


13H 



saga 

ID 
mSSSSSm 

Wmmtm 







Glass. 
Book. 



V~iz.\ 



.J3 



V 



HERMES SCYTHICUS 



OR, ff 



%f)t matiical ^mnities * w 



OF THE 



GREEK AND LATIN LANGUAGES 

TO 

C&c (gotjric: 

ILLUSTRATED FROM THE MOESO-GOTHIC, ANGLO-SAXON, 
FRANCIC, ALEMANNIC, SUIO-GOTHIC, ISLANDIC, &C. 

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 

A DISSERTATION ON THE HISTORICAL PROOFS 
OF THE SCYTHIAN ORIGIN OF THE GREEKS. 



By JOHN JAMIESON, D.D. F.R.S.E. <5> F.S.A.S. 

AUTHOR OF AN ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE 
SCOTTISH LANGUAGE, &C. &C. 




EDINBURGH: 

PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS; 

FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REE3, ORME, & BROWN, 

LONDON : 

AND BELL & BRADFUTE ; DOIG & STIRLING ; W. BLACKWOOD; 

J. ANDERSON & CO. ; AND OLIPHANT, WAUGH, & INNES, 

EDINBURGH. 

1814. 



PREFACE. 



This work, like some others which the author 
has published, owes its existence to a circumstance 
merely accidental. Having discovered various 
links of connexion, to which he had not formerly 
adverted, between the languages of the most po- 
lished nation of antiquity, and that of a people 
generally reckoned among the most uncivilized ; 
and having, for his own satisfaction, prosecuted 
the investigation to a considerable length ; he 
presumes, that it will not be deemed totally un- 
important to the interests of literature, that he 
should lay the result of his inquiries before the 
public. 

In all disquisitions of this kind, a wide field is 
necessarily opened up to fancy ; and it may be 
thought, that at times it has not been restrained 
within proper bounds. The objects, which seem 
clear to one, to the eye of another may be in- 

a 2 



IV 



volved in obscurity. The author begs, however, 
that the reader would so far indulge him with the 
exercise of his candour, as not to form a judgment 
of the work from any detached article, but dis- 
passionately to consider the combined evidence. 

Although himself satisfied, that the proof, ari- 
sing from a comparison of the languages, is suffi- 
cient to demonstrate the national affinity of the 
Greeks and Romans to the Scythians ; to remove, 
as far as possible, every ground of hesitation with 
others, he has prefixed a Dissertation on the 
historical evidence which bears on the same point. 

The author meant to have added, as a conclu- 
sion to the work, a list of Greek and Latin verbs 
and nouns, compared with those terms, in the 
language* of the north, which are evidently al- 
lied to them. But as he has not had leisure to 
arrange these, he finds it necessary to postpone 
this part of his plan. If what is now presented 
to the public meet with a favourable reception, 
he may be encouraged some time hence to give 
these as a supplementary illustration. 



CONTENTS. 



DISSERTATION - page! 

§ 1. Of the Name of Scythia - 3 

2. The Scythians and Getae the same people - 7 

3. The Goths the same with the Getae - 10 

4. The Thracians were Scythae - - 12 
6. Of the Diffusion of the Pelasgi through Greece 16 

6. The Hellenes originally one People with the Pelasgi 21 

7. Of the erroneous Opinions as to the Origin of the 

Pelasgi - 29 

■8. Of the Origin of the Name Pelasgi - 33 

9. The Scythian Origin of the Pelasgi proved from 

Testimony - - - 39 

10. Of the Progress of the Pelasgi - - 48 

1 1 . Of the Language of the Pelasgi - - 53 

12. Resemblance of the Greek Language to that of the 

Scythians - - - - 58 

13. Of the Origin of the Religion of the Greeks - 68 

14. Of those called Hyperboreans - • 74 

15. Of Saturn, Janus, Titaea, and Rhea - 80 

16. Of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Vesta, and Ceres - 94 

17. Of Diana, and Apollo - - - 102 

1 8. Of Neptune, Venus, and Mars - - 115 

19. Of Mercury, and Bacchus - - 126 

20. Of Pluto, Hercules, the Muses, Deucalion and 

Inachus - - - - 138 

21. The Romans from the same Stock with the Greeks 148 



VI CONTENTS. 



HERMES SCYTHICUS: 

( 

Introduction - page 1 
Book I. — Of Prepositions. 

Chap. I. Of *A^«, Lat. Amb-, am*; 'A>«, and w A«v 5 

11. Or Avriy L^t. Ante - - - 16 

III. Of 'a to and A«i - - - 27 

IV. Of'E*and'E* 37 
V. Of 'Et] and k*t* - - -53 

VI. Of Msra, ^0' --. 64 

VII. Of n* ? « - - - - 73 

VIII. Of riEg«, «-sg*v; n^ n^i and e« - S3 

IX. Of *Tt^ and 'r™ - - - 96 



Book II.— Of Conjunctions, Adverbs, Inseparable 
Particles, Terminations, Pronouns, 
Names of Numbers, Comparison, and 
Verbs. 

Chap. I. Of Conjunctions. Of 'aaa«; 'a>, 'Lett, 

Lat. An; At«£ i etCru^, 'Htj, «to<, Lat. 
Auk) aiitcm; Aio, hon; 'E<; T H; and r Ot;, 
Lat. HZ, ut - - - 115 

II. Of Adverbs. Of 'Au; Av, «ur=, **f<, 
•su&s, «vrtf§; Et*; Neio^i»; Nv», tvu, »t>; 
and "Ofcovy if** - ■ 1 -9 



CONTENTS. Vll 

Chap. III. Of Adverbs. Of "Ore; Ov, ovx, tv% ; Ov#/; 

n©At»; Uo'fau, L&t. Porro ; Xxottus; and Ton 142 
IV. Of Inseparable Particles. Of 'a; 
"Ag<, ig« ; A* ; A/?, £/#«, Lat. JDw; and 
Hi, m Lat. A r e, ni - - 153 

V. Of Terminations. Of Etv ; Ev, &v ; 'Hg, 
T>jg, Lat. Er, ter; Iko$; Ivo?; Lat. Inus; 
Atxog, Lat. Z<25; Afl?, A<s, a<of, Lat. Z-ws 162 

VI. Of some Latin Prepositions and 

Conjunctions, differing in origin, 
form, or signification, from those 
USED IN greek. Of Ad, at; Ob; 
Per;— Ac; Aut, Et ;Sed ; and Vel 176 

VII. Of Pronouns. Of "Ey*, Lat. Ego ; Xv ; 

Lat. Is; Quis ; Qualis ; and 'Ex i7n$ 187 

VIII. Of the Names of Numbers - 197 

IX. Of Comparison - . - 201 

X. Of Verbs ■ ' • ■ 208 

Index. 



AN EXPLANATION OF THE CONTRAC 
TIONS USED IN THIS WORK. 



Alem. , Alemannic. 


Sax., Saxon. 


Arab., Arabic. 


Scot., Scottish. 


Armor?, Armorican. 


Scytho-Scand., Scytho-Scandi- 


A.S., Anglo-Saxon. 


navian. 


Belg., Belgic. 


Su.G., Suio-Gothic. 


C.B. or C.Brit., Carabro-Bri- 


Szv., or Sived., Swedish. 


tannic, or Welsh. 


Teut., Teutonic. 


Celt., Celtic. 




Dan., Danish. 




E., or Eng., English. 


i 


Flandr. Flemish. 




Fr. 9 French. 


adj., adjective. 


Franc, Francic. 


adv., adverb. 


Gael., Gaelic. 


conj., conjunction. 


Germ., German. 


insep., inseparable. 


Goth., Gothic. 


X., note. 


Gr., Greek. 


part., particle. 


Heb.y Hebrew. 


prep., preposition. 


Jr., Irish. 


pron.y pronoun. 


Id., Islandic. 


q., or qu., quasi. 


hat., Latin. 


s., substantive noun. 


Eat . Barb., Latin of the middle 


term., termination. 


ages. 


V., vide. 


Moes.G., Moeso-Gothic. 


v., verb. 



Pers., Persian. 



vo., voce. 



DISSERTATION 



THE HISTORICAL PROOFS 



THE SCYTHIAN ORIGIN 



GREEKS. 



W ith the generality of mankind, a name is of 
far greater weight, in the scale of evidence, than 
they are willing to admit, or can allow themselves 
to imagine. It does not merely cast the balance 
when wavering; but is often found, on strict exami- 
nation, to be the only thing that presses down the 
preponderating scale. With the name of Greeks, 
or of Romans, we have been accustomed from 
our early years to associate the idea of every thing 
great, and wise, and excellent. Hence, even 
when arrived at maturity, we are extremely re- 
luctant to acknowledge the claims of any other 
people to priority in science or in the arts ; espe- 
cially if they were stigmatized as barbarous by 

a 



2 ON THE ORIGIN 

those nations that claimed wisdom and refinement 
as exclusively their own. We are scarcely dis- 
posed to give such a people precedence even as 
to national antiquity, although evidently entitled 
to this distinction from the incontestable proofs 
which appear on the page of history ; but seem 
almost inclined to credit the fables of those, who 
vain-gloriously affirmed, not only that they were 
Indigenous, but that they had sprung from the 
soil which derived its celebrity from giving birth 
to so wise a people. 

Perhaps we can assign no better reason for this 
partiality, than for another which often retains 
its force through life. As these favoured nations 
have been, as it Jwere, our school-companions, 
we have made common friends and foes with 
those who have been the objects of our early pre- 
dilection. Knowing that the tribes, which over- 
ran the Roman empire, that empire which re- 
ceived its highest lustre from our old classical 
friends, have been denominated Gotlis ; we con- 
nect, with this designation, the idea of every 
thing gross and savage. Hence it has become 
proverbial, as a term of general obloquy. It is 
singular, indeed, that men, from the influence of 
early habit, should agree to pour contempt on 
their own progenitors. To say of such a barba- 
rous people, that they undoubtedly must have 
possessed some means of communicating their 
ideas, will be deemed an honour fully as great 
as they can possibly merit j while, at the same 



OF THE GREEKS. $ 

time, it will be supposed, as a matter of course, 
that their speech could only be entitled to a 
comparison with the jargon of Hottentots, or of 
some American horde. To those who labour 
under prepossessions of this kind, the idea that 
the language of such a people could have any 
traces of resemblance to the revered structure of 
that of Athens or of Rome, would afford matter 
of ridicule, or might even be viewed as a sort of 
literary blasphemy. 

But, that there is a very intimate connexion 
between the language of the Goths, and that 
which was first spoken by the Greeks, and after- 
wards by the inhabitants of Italy, will, we trust, 
appear undeniable from the following work. It 
is generally admitted, that similarity of language 
is one of the most convincing documents of na- 
tional affinity. On this ground, therefore, as of 
itself sufficient, might we rest the proof of the 
propinquity of these nations. 

Here, however, we are not, as in many simi- 
lar inquiries, reduced to the necessity of being 
satisfied with this solitary evidence. Ancient 
history supplies us with its superadded testimony 
in support of our hypothesis. 



§. I. Of the Name of Scythia. 

"(Scythia is an ancient designation, which has 
been interpreted with great latitude by later 

a 2 



4 ON THE ORIGIN" 

writers. They would almost seem to have view- 
ed it, as if it had been used by the Greeks and 
Romans to denote the terra incognita of their 
times^' To the vast regions, to which this name 
has been extended, many tribes havef been as- 
signed, not less dissimilar in their language and 
customs, than remote from each other as to the 
ties of consanguinity. But these erroneous ac- 
counts have originated from want of due atten- 
tion to the testimony of antiquity. (Those an- 
cient writers, who are most entitled to credit, 
clearly enough define the general boundaries of 
that country to which they give this name. 

They distinguish between Western and Eas- 
tern Scythia. The former extended, according 
to Herodotus, from the lower parts of the Dan- 
ube, and the countries now denominated Hun- 
gary, Transylvania, and Walachia, to the Ta- 
nais or Don on the east. It was also called Eux- 
ine Scythia, as it run along the borders of the 
sea which anciently bore this name, now the 
Black Sea. Eastern Scythia was situated to the 
north-east of the Caspian Sea, including the 
country now designed western and eastern Tur- 
kestan. We learn from Justin, in his abridge- 
ment of Trogus Pompeius, that the kingdoms of 
Parthia and Bactria were founded by the Scy- 
thians*. It has been urged, however, that the Par- 
tisans were of Sarmatic origin. Taurica, or the 

* Lib. ii. c. 1. 3. 



OF THE GREEKS. 5 

modern Crimea, was not reckoned as properly 
included in Scythia * ; although there seems to 
be no reason to doubt that the Scythian language 
wss afterwards spoken thtere, the Cimmerians or 
Cimbri having been expelled. 

Several writers, both ancient and modern, have 
confounded the Sarmatians with the Scythians.)' 
Strabo has fallen into this error t, although in 
this instance he contradicts the testimony which 
he has given in other parts of his work. But 
they are distinguished by Herodotus ; who as- 
serts that the Royal Scythians, (the name given 
to one great division of this people) are separat- 
ed from the Sauromatae on the east by the Ta- 
nais. " Beyond the Tanais," he says, " it is no 
" longer Scythia ; but the first district is that of 
" the Sauromatae," &ct. 

(it seems beyond dispute, that the Cimmeril 
were the posterity of Gomer, the eldest son of 
Japhet, the Japetus of the Greeks ; and that 
they were the first race who peopled Europe. 
Their name is obviously retained by the descen- 
dants of the ancient Britons, who still denomi- 
nate themselves Cumri. As they anciently pos- 
sessed the Chersonesus Taurica, and gave their 
name to the Cimmerian Bosphorus, they un- 
doubtedly occupied part of the territory which 
afterwards pertained to the Scythians. As As- 

* Herod, lib. iv. c. 102. + Lib. xi. p. 492. Paris, 1620. 
J Lib. iv. c. 21. 

a 3 



b ON THE ORIGIN 

chenaz and Riphath were sons of Gomer, it has 
been supposed, that the name of the former was 
retained in that of the Euxine sea, or ITcktV a^- 
yof, as it was first denominated by the Greeks. 
It has also been conjectured that the name of 
Riphath may be traced in that of the Riphaean 
mountains, placed by ancient writers at the head 
of the Tanais^. 

Who was the father of the Scythians, is more 
doubtful ; and, on this head, their name can 
scarcely aid conjecture. It would appear, in- 
deed, that they did not take this name to them- 
selves, but received it from other nations, and 
particularly from the Greeks, (for Herodotus 
says of the descendants of Targitaus, that they 
were commonly named Scoloti, from the surname 
of their king, but that the Greeks called them 
Scythians t. They were universally celebrated 
for their skill in archery. The same ancient 
writer informs us, that some of the noble youths 
of Media studied this art under Scythian mas- 
terst ; and Hercules, it is said, learned the use 
of the bow from this people. Hence it has been 
supposed, that they received their name from 
skiuta, a Gothic word, which is viewed as trans- 
mitted from them, signifying to shoot. "With re- 
spect to their origin, the most general opinion is, 

* V. Bochart. Phaleg. lib. iii. c. 9. Anc. Univ. Hist. i. 375. 
iv. 471. Rennel's Geogr. of Herodotus, p. 139. 
f Lib. iv. c. 6. % Lib - *• c - 73 - 



OF THE GREEKS. 



that they were the descendants of Magog, the 
second son of Japhet. Had not Arphaxad, in 
Hebrew Arpachshad, been the son of Shem, it 
might have been thought that he was the same 
person with Arpoxaios, mentioned by the father 
of Grecian history, as one of the sons of Targi- 
taus, whom the Scythians claimed as their pro- 
genitor* J 



§ 2. The Scythians and Getae the 
same people. 

(That the Scythians and Getae were the same 
people, is attested by incontrovertible evidence. 
On the southern side of the Danube, opposite to 
the territory occupied by the Scythians, and in 
the angle forming a part of Thrace, there was a 
small nation in the time of Herodotus, who bore 
the name of Getae. But this designation appears 
to have been the generic name given to various 
branches of this great people, and most probably 
assumed by themselves. We, accordingly, find 
it conjoined with different prepositive terms, 
which seem designed to mark its definite appli- 
cation to one race as distinguished from another. 
Thus, we read of the Massa-Getae, the Thyssa- 
Getae , and Tyro-Getae.^j It is obvious that Getae 
must have been the primary denomination, He- 

* Herod, lib. iv. c. 5. 6. 

a 4 



8 ON THE ORIGIN 

rodotus speaks of this people, who lived on the 
opposite side of the Danube, without seeming to 
have supposed that they were originally the same 
with the Scythae, calling them Thracians*. It 
is surprising that their name did not suggest the 
idea, that they were merely a branch from the 
common stock, that had pushed on a little far- 
ther west. (The Jyro-Getae, of Plinyt, are the 
same with the Tyritae of Herodotus. For by 
both writers they are placed on the river Tyres, 
or Tyy*as, the Dneister of our times. Rennel 
conjectures, with considerable plausibility, that 
Herodotus may have written Tyrigetaet. These, 
then, were the Gctae situated on the river Tyres, 
The Massa-Getae occupied the territory on 
the Iaxartes, or Sirr. ) Herodotus, indeed, was 
uncertain whether he should view them as a Scy- 
thia nnation. From their greater distance, he had 
less opportunity of being acquainted with them. 
He admits, however, that by some they were ac- 
counted Scythians ; that in their dress and food 
they resembled that people ; and, that what the 
Greeks asserted of the Scythians in general, was 
true only of the Massagetae §.£fiy the testimony 
of other writers, this matter is put beyond doubt. 
(The Massagetae were the Scythae of the Ro- 
mans. By Ptolemy they are called the Scythians 
intra Imaum. Strahlenberg says, that the particle 

* Lib. iv. c. 93. f Hist. Nat lib. iv. c. 12. 

% Geogr. Herod, p. 72. § Lib. i. 201. 215, 216. 



OF THE GREEKS. 9 

ma, in the Tartarian language, signifies cis 9 citra, 
and intra, in Latin, and is sometimes used as a 
conjunction copulative ; and hence, that this 
people received the name of Ma-giugi in Arabic, 
of Ma-gogaei in Hebrew, of Ma-tschudi in Tar- 
tarian, and of Ma-sgetae, Ma-schytae, or Massa- 
getae, in Greek*. Hire considers this as a Scy- 
thic word ; observing, that by many it is render- 
ed the greater Getae, in contradistinction from 
the lesser Goths, whose bishop was Ulphilas, as 
we learn from Jornandes. Massa is thus view- 
ed as merely the Moeso-Gothic comparative, 
maizo, major, which is evidently from the same 
fountain with Gr. pu'fo% id. The name Thyssa- 
Getae, or as written by others, Thyrsa-Getae, 
most probably, in like manner, owes its origin 
to some local or characteristic circumstance, al- 
though now totally unknown. They were situat- 
ed on the Wolga. ) 

Although the etymon of the name ScytJiae, al- 
ready mentioned, is very ingenious ; it may be 
doubted, if we should not rather view it as a mo- 
dification of that of Getae. " The Greeks, and 
" especially the Aeolians," it has been remarked, 
" were fond of prefixing the letter s to words and 
" proper names. Thus, Stephanus informs us, 
" that for Cimbri they said ZKtpfyot ; and they ob- 
" served the same mode in other instances. 

* Descript. of the North and Eastern parts of Europe and 
Asia ; Introd. p. 39, 40. 



lO ON THE ORIGIN 

" Hence, we perceive why ancient writers now 
f assert that the Getae were a Scythic nation, 
" and then call the Scythians a part of the 
" Getae V 

( 

§ 3. The Goths the same with the Getae. 

(it is not less obvious, that the Getae and the 
Goths were the same people, and that the name 
of Scythae was indiscriminately given to both.) 
Thucydides remarks the resemblance of the Ge- 
tae to the Scythians. " The Getae, he says, 
" border with the Scythians, are armed in the 
" same manner, and are all equestrian archers t." 
Jornandes, indeed, has been understood as dis- 
tinguishing the Goths from the Getae t. Had 
he really done so, it must have been imputed 
to his anxious desire to shew that Scandinavia 
was the officina gentium. But it is evident, that 
throughout his work he uses the names Getae, 
Gethiy and Gothi promiscuously ; as he asserts 
without reason, that these were the people, who, 
migrating from the shores of the Baltic, took pos- 
sesion of Scythia, extending themselves beyond 
the Danube. (Stephanus describes the rbrSoi, or 
Goths, as, " a nation anciently inhabiting the 

* Hire Gloss. Prooem. vi. 

\ '0^«oV*ev«<, jturrss i7r7T6Tc^oract. Hist. lib. ii. p. 165. Franc. 
1594-. % Mascou's Hist. German. B. v. § vi. N. (2). 



THE GREEKS. 11 

i( district within the Palus Maeotis ; and who 
" afterwards migrated into Thrace *." Ovid, and 
other Latin writers, use the names Getae and 
Gothi without distinction. Georgius Syncellus 
says, that " the Scythians are also designed 
66 Goths in their own language," and that, pass- 
" ing the Ister, they depopulated the Roman era- 
" pire in the time of Decius t.'v (We learn from 
Photius, on the testimony of Philostorgius, that 
Urphilas, bishop of the Goths, otherwise called 
Ulphilas, " in his time brought much people with 
" him into the Roman empire, of the Scythians 
" beyond the Ister, whom the ancients indeed 
" called Getae, but the moderns Gothi t." Gib- 
bon, who has undoubtedly paid uncommon atten- 
tion to this subject, observes, that ct Zozimus, 
" and the Greeks, give the name of Scythians to 
" those whom Jornandes, and the Latin writers, 
" constantly represent as Goths §.") 

This point has been so clearly established by 
Sheringham, and in our own time by Mr Pink- 
erton, that it is totally unnecessary to enlarge 
on it ||. 

* Vo. Tirdoi. f Ap. Stritter. Memor. Popul. i. 38. 

f V. Sheringham de Anglor. Gent. Orig. p. 183. 

§ Decline and Fall, i. 432. 8vo. 

|| Dissertation on the Origin and Progress of the Scythians 
or Goths, p. 11 — 14. Although I cannot adopt every hypo- 
thesis contained in this work, it is merely justice to the learned 
author to acknowledge, that he has thrown more light on this 
subject, in general, than any preceding writer. 



12 ON THE ORIGIN 

I shall only add, that we may observe a similar 
use of the name Gothi with that of Getae, formerly 
illustrated. Another term is frequently prefixed, 
to distinguish the particular tribe or nation ; as, 
Moeso-Gothi, Visi-Gothi, Ostro-Gothi. /The Moe- 
so-Gothi were the Goths of Moesia, which ex- 
tended from the confluence of the Save and the 
Danube to the Euxine, including the countries 
now denominated Bosnia, Servia, and Lower Bul- 
garia. The Visi-Gothi, or, as designed by Jornan- 
des, Vesegothae, by others JVisigothi, had their 
name from their western situation ; xcese, as 
Wachter observes, signifying the west. The Os- 
tro-Gothi, or Justro-Gothi, were the Goths of the 
east, from Alemannic ostar, Suio-Gothic aster, 
Islandic auslr, oriens. 



§ 4. The Thracians were Scythac. 

{ The Thracians were of Scythic origin. As the 
Mosaic designation Gomer seems to be retained 
in that of Cimmcrii, Cimbri, or Cumri ; there is 
great probability in the idea generally adopted 
by the learned, that the Thracians were the pos- 
terity of Tiras, or rather Thbra$ 9 who is last men- 
tioned by the sacred historian among the sons of 
Japhet. The learned Bocharfe has observed, that 
%*£, the name given by the Greeks to a Thracian, 
is supposed to be merely Thiras, the Gr. i cor- 
responding to samcch of the Phoenicians, and hold- 



OF THE GREEKS. 13 

ing its place in the alphabet *. Josephus says, 
that this son of Japhet " called those whom he 
" governed 0*//>ac ; but that the Greeks denomin- 
" ated the same people Thracians t." Eusebius, 
Eustathius, Epiphanius, Jerom, with the Chaldee 
interpreters, uniformly give the same testimony. 
Besides many other places in this vicinity, which 
apparently retain the name of Tiras, it occurs in 
that of the river Tyras^ which falls into the Eux- 
ine not far from the mouths of the Danube.) 

It has already been seen, that on the southern 
side of this river, in the country properly called 
Thrace, and opposite to the primaeval seats of 
the Scythians, Herodotus places a small nation 
called Getae. Yet, notwithstanding this distinc- 
tion of name, he views them as the same people. 
For " the Getae," he says, " are the most valiant 
" and the most just of the Thracians t" 

It may be supposed, indeed, that although the 
Getae were called Thracians, the Thracians in 
general were not Getae ; and that this Getic na- 
tion received the name of Thracians, merely be- 
cause they left their own territories and occupied 
a part of Thrace. But, though we had no other 
proof, it might seem fully as probable, that the 
name of Getae had originally included all the 
Thracians, and that the reason why one branch 

* Phaleg. lib. ii. c. 2. 

•j* QquKcts &vTvg ptTuvlftxcrxv. Antiq. lib. i. b. 7. 

% 0§i}fo#» iovtis ecy^^iioretrot xctt ^Kxiwxroi. Lib. IV. C. 93- 



14 ON THE ORIGIN 

retained it, while it was not generally applied to 
the rest, was the peculiar distinction of this peo- 
ple with respect to religion. For Herodotus does 
not mark them out merely by their national de- 
signation, but by their characteristic sentiments. 
They were, he says, the athanatizing Getae, or 
those who held the doctrine of immortality * ; 
proceeding to give a particular account of their 
creed, and of its pretended origin. As he gives 
the name of Thracians in common to them with 
the other inhabitants of this country, he distin- 
guishes the latter merely by their local situation, 
as " the Thracians who possess Salmydessus, and 
" who dwell above Apollonia and the city Mesam- 
44 bria, and who are called Cyrmianae and Mvp- 
.* saei." 

But we have further proof of a direct kind. 
Stephanus Byzantinus says, u Getia is the coun- 
44 try of the Getae ; this, however, is a Thracian 
46 nation t:" and Strabo, " The Greeks accounted 
44 the Getae a Thracian nation t." The same 
writer asserts that the Daci and the Thracians 
used the same language §. Now, he elsewhere 
says, that the Getae and the Daci had a common 
tongue ||. Appian also asserts that the Getae, be- 
yond the Ister, were denominated Daci % This 

* TlTOtq T85 «0etVCtTl£oVTOtS. Lib. IV. 93. 

f Ap. Ihre, Proem, vii. Sheringh. p. 160. 

% Lib. vii. § Lib. i. c. 20. ap. Hire. 

]| Lib. vii. p. 305. f In Praef. 



OF THE GREEKS. 15 

is, in like manner, affirmed by Justin, Xipliilin, 
and others. Mela expressly testifies that all the 
Thracians, however distinguished by different 
names and customs, constituted one nation, and 
that they were Getae # . 

There is not the slightest doubt that the Moesi, 
whom the Greeks improperly denominated Mysi, 
were Goths ; yet we find Herodotus classing them 
under the name of Thracians. Vopiscus says, 
that Probus either subdued or received into a 
state of amity, Thracias, atque omnes Geticos po- 
pulos t. 

Before proceeding to shew that the Greeks 
themselves were of Scythian origin, several points 
of a preliminary nature claim our attention. It 
is well known, that the Pelasgi have been gene- 
rally accounted the first inhabitants of Greece. 
The proof of the Scythian origin of the Greeks 
must, of course, depend on that of the affinity 
of the Pelasgi to the Scythians. A particular 
inquiry into the vestiges, still discernible on the 
path of history, of those who first peopled Greece, 
is therefore necessary. 

It may be proper, first, to inquire whether the 
Pelasgi were indeed generally diffused through 
Greece; secondly, to shew that the Hellenes 

* Una gens Thraces habitant, aliis aliisque praediti, et nomi- 
nibus, et moribus, quidam feri sunt, et ad mortem paratissimi, 
Getae utique. De Situ Orb. lib. ii. c. 26. 

-MnProb. 



16 ON THE ORIGIN 



were originally the same people ; in the third 
place, to examine the assertions of those who 
deny the Scythian origin of the Pelasgi. After 
some remarks with respect to the name Pelasgi , 
we shall go on to investigate their origin. 



§ 5. Of the Diffusion qftiie Pelasgi through 
Greece. 

We are, first, to consider the proofs which his- 
tory supplies of the general diffusion of the Pe- 
lasgi through Greece. As the most ancient wri- 
ters recognised no earlier possessors of this coun- 
try ; although the name be used in its utmost la- 
titude, as including, besides the islands, Epirus, 
Thessaly, and Macedon, even to the borders of 
Thrace, it will be found that they occupied all 
this extent of territory. 

(Herodotus not only affirms, that Greece was 
formerly denominated Pelasgia* ; but when speak- 
ing of the Athenians, as being before the time of 
Cecrops called Cranai, he remarks that, even as 
bearing this name, " they were Pelasgi, the latter 
" possessing the country now designed Hellas t." 
Strabo says, " that the Pelasgi, as indeed the 
" most ancient nation, were diffused through all 

* 'EWetSos, T£0Ti£tv Ss riiAflnrynjj Kxtevpcivn, Lib. ii. c. 37. 
f Lib. viii. c. 44. 



OF THE GREEKS. 1 7 

Greece, and especially among the Aeolians in 
Thessaly, is almost universally acknowledged. 

" Thessaly is called the Pelasgic Argos, which 
tt is situated between the mouths of Peneus, and 
M of Thermopylae, all the way to the mountainous 
" region of Pindus ; because the Pelasgi held 
" these places. — Many also denominate the na- 
<c tions of Epirus Pelasgi, because this people ex- 
" tended their dominion thus far ; and many of 
" those heroes are called Pelasgi, from whom, iu 
" succeeding ages, this name was transmitted to 
" nations. For Lesbos was called Pelasgia ; and 
" Homer designs those Pelasgi, who bordered 
" with the Cilicians in Troas *." / 

(According to Stephanus Byzantinus, it w T as 
first called Pelasgia, and had the name of Thes- 
saly, in a posterior age, from Thessalus the son of 
Aemon t. It is recognised by ancient writers as 
a Scythian region. Strabo says that it was at 
first all denominated Pyrrhaea, from Pyrrha the 
wife of Deucalion, Aemonia from Aemon (who 
was reckoned the grandson of Pelasgus); and that 
one half of it was named Pandora by Deucalion, 
in honour of his mother t. Now it is universally 
admitted that Deucalion was a Scythian. In re- 
lation to the time preceding the Trojan war, Thu- 
cydides, when mentioning the name of Hellas or 



* Strab. Geogr. lib. v. p. 220, 221. 

~\~ Vo. JJiTiXc-yt'sc — Aipovioi. 

t Strab. Geogr. lib. x. 44, 444. 

b 



18 ON THE ORIGIN 

Greece, thus expresses his opinion : " This name, 
" as it appears to me, did not universally prevail. 
u Before the age of Hellen, indeed, the son of 
" Deucalion, it was totally unknown ; but other 
" nations, as well as the Pelasgi, who were most 
" widely diffused, retained their own peculiar de- 
" nominations V " The Ionians," says Hero- 
dotus, " who formerly possessed Achaia, before 
" the time .of Danaus and Xuthus, as the Greeks 
" relate, were called Pelasgi Aegialees," or those 
who inhabited the sea-coast t. He asserts, in the 
same place, that " the Aeolians were anciently 
" called Pelasgi t") 

The scholiast on Apollonius, extends the name 
of Pelasgi to the Argives. The Arcadians, who 
were reckoned the most ancient people in Greece, 
bore the same designation, as their country was 
called Pelasgia. Pausanias says ; " The Arcadians 
" make mention of Pelasgus as the first person 
tl who existed in their country. — From this king 
u the whole region took the name of Pelasgia §." 
Peloponnesus in general, indeed, received this 
name ||. 

The fact of the general extension of the Pelas- 
gi was so universally admitted by the Greeks, that, 
in this instance, their poets, without calling in 
the aid of fables, speak the same language with 
their historians. Homer gives the name of Pe- 

* Hist. lib. i. p. 3. f Lib - v »- c - 94 - t Ibid - c - 95 - 
§ Arcldic. c. i. p. 598, 599. || Stephan. vo. n= 



OF THE GREEKS. • 19 

lasgian to Argos*, a term which, as used by him, 
included the whole of Peloponnesus. When he 
elsewhere designs them Ihi YiiKwyoi t, he evidently 
confesses their high antiquity and acknowledged 
preeminence. Euripides not only uses similar 
language with Homer, in the phrase YliKcuryiKh 
"Afyos X ; but calls the army of the Seven, before 
Thebes, "the Pelasgic army §." 

An accurate historian, of our own age, has so 
well expressed the substance of the testimony of 
another Greek poet, that I cannot do better than 
give it in his own words. ( " A passage of the poet 
" Aeschylus concerning this people, for its anti- 
" quity, its evident honesty, its probability, and 
" its consistency with all other remaining evi- 
<c dence of best authority, appears to deserve par- 
" ticular notice. The Pelasgian princes, he says, 
" extended their dominion over all the northern 
" parts of Greece, together with Macedonia and 
" Epirus, as far as the river Strymon eastward, 
" and the sea beyond the Dodonaean mountains 
" westward. Peloponnesus," he adds, " was not 
" peopled so early ; for Apis, apparently a Pelas- 
" gian chief, crossing the Corinthian gulf from 
" Aetolia, and destroying the wild beasts, first 
" made that peninsula securely habitable for men ; 

* Nt-v y xv t«$, 'iffffd to TliXxryiKo> y> A(>yo5 zvxtav. II. /3. 681» 
f Iliad, *' . 429. % Phoeniss. v. 265. 

I TkhufyiKov r^dnvux. Ibid. v. 107. 

b2 



20 OF THE ORIGIN 

u and hence it had from him its most ancient 
" name Apia*.") 

In place of a variety of other quotations, I shall 
substitute the testimony of the same elegant 
writer, in proof of his full conviction, after the 
strictest scrutiny, of the concurrence of histori- 
cal proof as to the general extension of the Pe- 
lasgi. 

/ " Among the uncertain traditions of various 
" hordes, who, in early times, overran the country, 
K the Pelasgian name is eminent. This name 
" may be traced into Asia \ it is found in the 
" islands ; and the people who bore it appear to 
" have spread far on the continent of Europe, 
" since they are reckoned among the earliest in- 
" habitants of Italy. It was very generally ac- 
" knowledged,as the accurate and judicious Strabo 
" assures us, that the Pclasgians were anciently es- 
" tablished all over Greece, and that they were 
" the first people who became powerful there. 
u Consonant to this we find every mention of the 
" Pelasgiansby Herodotus and Thucydides; from 
" the former of whom we learn, that Pelasgia was 
" once a general name for the country t."j 



* Mitford's Hist. Greece, I. 30. The passage referred to is 
in the Danaid, or i*£t*&<t, of Aeschylus, v. 265, 

Tat/ ynytfous y&(> upt &yeo IletXect^Sof^ 

f Ibid. p. 29. 30. 



OF THE GREEKS. 21 



§ 6. The Hellenes originally one People 
with the Pelasgi. 

Some learned writers having viewed the Hel- 
lenes as a distinct race from the Pelasgi, it 
becomes necessary to inquire, in the Second 
place, if this opinion be well-founded. It ap- 
pears principally to rest on the two following 
grounds ; that the Hellenes have been described 
by Greek writers as attached to their native land, 
and the establishments of their ancestors, where- 
as the Pelasgi, " disdaining fixed habitations, 
" wandered in large bodies over Greece, or trans* 
" ported themselves into the neighbouring is* 
" lands *;" and also, because they are spoken of> 
by Herodotus, as forming two distinct nations. 

The first of these arguments seems to derive all 
its apparent force from an inaccurate comparison 
of the Pelasgi with the Hellenes. From the man- 
ner in which this argument is laid, it might be 
supposed that these distinct denominations were 
characterised, from their peculiar habits, during 
the very same period. But it appears to be en- 
tirely overlooked, that, in the accounts given of 
the migrations of the Pelasgi, they are especially 
described in relation, to an era long preceding 
the arrival of the Hellenes. In this early age, 

* GiUies's Hist. Greece, L 5. 



22 ON THE ORIGIN 

they had every temptation to ramble ; for, ac- 
cording to all the evidence we have from ancient 
writers, the country which lay before them was 
still uninhabited. From a passage in Herodotus, 
which will be afterwards illustrated, it is clear 
that the migrations, attributed to them, were 
chiefly those which preceded their taking posses- 
sion of Peloponnesus, while they were on their 
progress, considerably devious indeed, to this 
country from their original settlements. The 
character given of the Hellenes, however, seems 
to be restricted to their modes of life after they 
entered the same region. We certainly know that, 
on one occasion, they were forced to migrate, 
being driven from their seats in Thessaly by the 
Phenician colony. Now it may reasonably be 
supposed, that in other instances their migration 
might proceed from necessity, although these are 
are not recorded in the scanty accounts which 
remain of ages so remote. Although, however, 
it were certain that, at the same era, the Pelasgi 
retained more of a wandering propensity than the 
Hellenes, would this be a sufficient proof that they 
acknowledged different origins ? Undoubtedly, 
nothing more could be reasonably inferred, than 
that the one colony, leaving their original settle- 
ments in an earlier age, and in a more uncivilized 
state, than the other, and having every tempta- 
tion, from the vacancy of the regions into which 
they entered, to continue their roaming mode of 
life, became so habituated to it, that even in 



OF THE GREEKS. 23 

later times they still manifested the same dispo- 
sition. 

The language used "by Herodotus, when giv- 
ing an account of the Pelasgi, has perplexed 
commentators and historians not a little, and has 
been misinterpreted in more respects than one. 
He has been understood as asserting that, al- 
though the Athenians were Pelasgi, the Spartans 
were Hellenes ; as ascribing habits of wandering 
to the latter, but not to the former ; and even 
as affording sufficient evidence that the one peo- 
ple were originally different from the other. No- 
thing more is necessary for shewing that these 
are all misapprehensions, than candidly to view 
the meaning of his language in its connexion. 
( " He, [Croesus] in consequence of investiga- 
" tion, found that the Spartans and Athenians 

* had the preeminence ; those [the Spartans] in 

* the Doric nation, these [the Athenians] in the 
" Ionic. For these nations in ancient times were 
" preferred, the one [the Spartans] the Pelasgic 
" nation^ the other the Hellenic. The one truly 
" [the Hellenic] never wandered from its own 
" soil ; but the other was much addicted to mi- 
" gration. For under king Deucalion it inhabit- 
" ed the coast of Phthiotis ; under Dorus, the son 
" of Hcllen, the region which lies under Ossa and 
" Olympus, denominated Estiaeotis ; whence, be- 
" ing ejected by the Cadmeans, it inhabited the 
" region called Macednus in Pindus ; thence it 
" again migrated to Dryopis j and, coming from 

b 4 



24 ON THE ORIGIN 

" Dryopis into Peloponnesus, it received the 
* f name of Doric*."] 

It is admitted, that from the order which He- 
rodotus observes in the use of the article, con- 
joined with the distinctive adverbs pb and Jl, the 
sense would seem to be, that the Pelasgi never 
wandered, but that the Hellenes did. Here, how- 



* 'iro^av dl, tvjiiarKt Axx.u$cetpoviv$ xxt A6r t vxtVf icptyfirrmf Tir$ 
ftiv, tS AagixS yivtog, t»j oz } t» 'iwvtxis. txvtx yxp qv tx ttpoksx^* 
feem Iovtx to xf>%xtor to ph, UiXxo-ytKov, to 2;, 'EAAjjwtoF idtof. Kxi 
to /xlv, xlixpt xu i%i%Q%riO-i' to 3e, miXvxXxtr,Tor xxprx. exi fA.li ya^ 
AlVKxXiatog /3x<rtX*)0<; o'ix.11 yij» t«» <P6iUTtV hci $i Aug* TS '.EAAi|»«$, 
tjjv vTco tkv 'Oo-o-xi ti xxt 0'vXvu.irov Xfiipr.v, xxteopiir,* 2i '\<?ixiuTu. 
e* dl iyjs 'inxiaTidof a; <%xvi<rr, vro KxUfiua)*, Mxtsv i> Uiv^at Mxxu$- 
vov xxXtofCivov. ivfcvTti 2a xvtk; is Tir A^jottiox fUtKn, xxi tx t?$ 
A^voTTidos 6VT&; U UiXo-royvr,o-oy ixfov, Aot^ixov ixX*ifo,. Herod, lib. i. 

c. 56. 

The learned and acute Abbe Geinoz says, that Mxxihot 
does not denote the name of the place, but the national name 
which the Pelasgi received there, as bordering with the Mace- 
donians. He supposes that to 8b«? 9 used a little before, is to 
be supplied here ; and, that M«xs$»o? is equivalent to Mae«©Vos *. 
Recherches stir l'Origine des Pelasges, avec l'Histoire de leur 
Migrations. Histoire de l'Academie Royale des Inscriptions, 
Tome xiv. Memoires de Litterature, p. 174- — 17G\ 

He also thinks that Herodotus was deceived in supposing 
that the Pelasgi were not called Dorians till they entered Pe- 
loponnesus. For as they previously inhabited Estiaeotis, which, 
according to Strabo, lib. ix., is the same with Doris, it seems 
most probable that they received the name of Dorians there. 
Ibid. p. 176. 

* The expression thus signifying, " the nation dwelt in Pindus, being 
u denominated Macedonian." 



OF THE GREEKS. 25 

ever, Herodotus has overlooked the natural con- 
nexion ; and, hence has his meaning been so 
much misapprehended. Having mentioned the 
Hellenic nation, when he proceeds to give one 
leading feature in their character, he does so 
without regarding the former order of his lan- 
guage. For, unless the assertion, that one of 
these " was much addicted to migration,' 5 refers 
exclusively to the Pelasgi, the whole passage is 
self contradictory. It is of this wandering peo- 
ple that he states the various migrations, till 
V coming into Peloponnesus, it received the 
<c name of Doric." Now, he must necessarily 
be understood as describing the Spartans ; for 
them only had he formerly designed as belonging 
to " the Doric nation." It is incontrovertible, 
therefore, however aukward the structure of the 
language, that the Pelasgi are meant ; for he had 
asserted that the Spartans were Pelasgi, as dis- 
tinguished from the Athenians, who were Hel- 
lenes. 

It might seem at first view, from what he 
states with respect to the difference of language, 
that Herodotus, in the chapters immediately fol- 
lowing, meant to assert that the Atticans were 
radically distinct from the Pelasgi. He says, in- 
deed, that from all that could be conjectured 
concerning the language of the Pelasgi, from the 
remains of it among the Crestonians, it was bar- 
barous ; while he asserts, that according to his 
apprehension, " the Hellenic nation, from its very 



26 ON THE ORIGIN 

" formation, had invariably used one language*." 
He admits, however, that the Attic nation, not- 
withstanding the diversity of speech, was Pelas- 
gic : " If, therefore, the whole Pelasgic nation 
" was such" as those who remained in Crestonia, 
" the Attic nation, being Pelasgic, when it en- 
cc tered among the Hellenes, also learned their 
" language." 

But nothing can be more evident, than that 
this modest and candid historian founded his con- 
jecture, as to the permanent identity of the Greek 
language, on insufficient grounds. The idea, 
that the Pelasgi, when conjoined with the Atti- 
cans, totally abandoned their vernacular lan- 
guage, and adopted that of a posterior colony, 
is opposed to universal experience. This must 
appear still more improbable, as he acknow- 
ledges, that "the Hellenic nation, separated from 
" the Pelasgi, was weak, and received its in- 
" crease from the frequent accession of other 
** rbarous nations t." Can it be believed, that 
a feeble nation could be amalgamated with a va- 
riety of others, and yet retain its original speech? 
There is no occasion for reasoning indeed, as it 
is universally acknowledged, that the language 
of the Greeks must be viewed as formed from 
the contributions of a variety of tongues, which 
they themselves called barbarous. 

* Lib. i. c. 57, 58. f Ibid. c. 5$. 



OF THE GREEKS. 2*7 

Notwithstanding this inconsistency, it is ob- 
vious, that Herodotus did not view the Hellenes 
as radically a different people. For, while he 
calls the Athenians " the Hellenic nation," he 
in the same place says, that " the Attic nation 
tc was Pelasgic." Although he also here assigns 
to the Athenians the " preeminence in the Ionic 
" nation," he never meant to deny their Pelasgic 
origin. For in another place he says, u the Iones, 
*' when they inhabited that region in Pelopon- 
'* c nesus, now called Achaia, before the coining 
" of Danaus and Xuthus into Peloponnesus (as 
" the Hellenes relate), w T ere denominated Pelasgi 
ff Aegialees" i. e. those on the sea-shore ; " but 
■" from Ion the son of Xuthus, they received the 
" name of Iones *." 

Thus it appears, that in an early period those 
afterwards designed Iones had the name of Pe- 
lasgi, with an additional epithet descriptive of 
their situation. The Iones were called Pelasgi, 
doubtless, because they were known to be such 
by their neighbours. They had this name, not 
merely before they received that of Iones, but 
before the existence of Ion. Thus, when we 
compare this passage with what Herodotus had 
saidt, in regard to the distinction between the Pe- 
lasgic and Ionic nations, we have an additional 
proof that he did not mean to mark a distinction 
as to origin, but merely as to civil association. 

* Herod, lib. vii. c. 94. f Lib. i. c, 56. 



23 OX THE ORIGIN 

As, therefore, he in that passage identifies the 
Ionic with the Hellenic nation, it is obvious that, 
notwithstanding posterior arrangements, he view- 
ed the Hellenes as originally Pelasgi. He adopt- 
ed this view, as admitted to be correct by the 
Hellenes themselves. They said, indeed, that 
they sprung from Hellen the father of the Do- 
rians, who were Pelasgi *. 

This strictly corresponds to the account given 
by Thucydides. He clearly shews that the name 
of Hellenes diffused itself till it came to be of 
general application, not from national affinity, 
but from necessary association. " "When Hellen 
* and his descendants," he remarks, " governed 
" in Phthios, and for mutual aid united to them- 
u selves other cities, these at length, from con- 
a stant intercourse, successively received the 
u name of Hellenes. Yet even a long time after, 
<c this name did not extend to all. — This espe- 
" cially appears from Homer. For, although he 
" was born long after the siege of Troy, he no 
" where gives this name to all, nor indeed to 
" any but those who came with Achilles from 
" Phthios, who were indeed the first Greeks t." 

(" The nation of the Hellenes," says Dionysus 
Halicarnassensis, u was of the Pelasgi, the ori- 
" ginal possessors of Peloponnesus. They were 

subjected to many vicissitudes, and especially 

* Herod, lib. i. c. 56. ut sup. f Hi st - !&< ■■ c - 3 - 






OF THE GREEKS. 29 

" to much wandering, having no fixed resi- 
" dence *." ) 

It is scarcely necessary to subjoin another tes- 
timony of Herodotus, in part quoted before, 
which must for ever silence the imagination that 
he viewed the Pelasgi and Hellenes as radically 
different. (" The Athenians," he says, " while 
" the Pelasgi held the country which is now call- 
f ed Hellas, were Pelasgi, being named Cranai ; 
" but under king Cecrops, they were designed 
" Cecropidae ; Erychtheus having acquired the 
" dominion, they, by a change of name, were de- 
" nominated Athenians ; and afterwards Ionians, 
" from Ion the son of Xuthus, who became the 
" leader of the Athenian army \) y 



§ 7. Of the erroneous Opinions as to the Origin 
of the Pelasgi. 

Let us now a little examine the assertions of 
thosewho assert the Phenician originof the Pelasgi. 
An ingenious writer, who without any hesitation 
embraces this hypothesis, says in confirmation of 
it :\ c We learn from Sanconiatho, that the sons of 
* the Dioscori and Cabiri wrote the first annals 
" of the Phenician history, by the command of 



* K«; to t«v HiXxcryav ylvo$ EXXwikov, \k TlsXoircwitft to #?• 
^et7ov, &c. Antiq. Roman, lib. i. p. 14. 
t Herod, lib. viii. c. 44. 



30 ON THE ORIGIN 

" Taaut, and being cast upon the coast near 
" mount Casius, about forty miles from Pelusium, 
" they built a temple : this event happened in the 
" second generation after the deluge, record- 
" ed by Moses. We learn from Herodotus, that 
u the Pelasgi were the descendants of the Pheni- 
" cian Cabiri, and that the Samothracians re- 
" ceived and practised the Cabiric mysteries from 
" the Pelasgi, who, in ancient times, inhabited 
" Samothrace V) 

. It is rather surprising, that a writer of this age 
should quote the fragments of Sanchoniatho as 
historic proof. They have generally, and it would 
seem justly, been viewed as a disguised account 
of the sacred history, which this Phenician re- 
ceived from Jerumbaal, supposed to be Gideon, 
blended with allegory and eastern mythology. 

Notwithstanding all the pains that have been 
taken by learned writers in investigating this 
subject, it remains to this day a matter of absolute 
uncertainty, whether the Cabiri were men who 
had once existed and been deified after death, 
certain parts of the universe personified, or some 
of the Dii Majores disguised under a peculiar 
designation. Vossius views the term as properly 
applicable merely to the ministers of heathen wor- 
ship. This hypothesis is totally inadmissible ; as it 
is evident, from the general tenor of ancient his- 
tory, that they were not only worshipped, but 

* Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, p. 52, 53. 



OF THE GREEKS. 31 

held in the highest reverence, so that it was deem- 
ed unlawful even to utter their names. Histo- 
rians differ also as to the number of the Cabiri. 
Some ancient writers mention only two, others 
three. According to the scholiast on Apollonius, 
there were four, Axieros, Axiokersa, Axiokersos, 
and Casmilus. These names, he says, denoted 
Ceres, Proserpine, Pluto, and Mercury, who was 
reckoned inferior to the rest *. 

Mr Astle seems to be the first modern writer 
who has given full credit to fabulous records. 
He not only ascertains the existence of the Ca- 
biri, and the nation to which they belonged, 
but the age in which they wrote. The Cabiri 
were Phenicians, and they flourished " in the se- 
" cond generation after the deluge. " He also 
asserts, without the slightest hesitation, that 
" they were called Pelasgi." From the authority 
to which he appeals, one would suppose, that 
Herodotus had expressly said, " that the Pelasgi 
" were the descendants of the Phenician Cabiri." 
But the reader would search in vain for any proof 
of this assertion. The passage, referred to by 
Mr Astle, is in Euterpe, c. 51. But the ancient 
historian merely says, that " the Samothracians 
" celebrate the mysteries of the Cabiri, having 
" received them from the Pelasgi. For these Pe- 
" lasgi formerly inhabited Samothrace, — and from 
*' them the Samothracians received these rites/* 

* V. Bochart, Chanaan, lib. i. c. 12. 



32 ON THE ORIGIN 

All that we learn from this is, that the Pelasgi 
were acquainted with the mysteries of the Cabin, 
and communicated them to others. But Hero- 
dotus does not say, either in this or in any other 
part of his work, " that the Pelasgi were the de- 
" scendants of the Phenician Cabin." He does 
not even insinuate that he reckoned the latter 
Phenicians. 

When Herodotus, in the beginning of his his- 
tory, speaks of the navigation of the Phenicians 
to Argos, in the time of Inachus, for carrying on 
commerce, had he reckoned the Pelasgi Pheni- 
cians, it would have been natural for him to have 
mentioned this circumstance. Although he over- 
looked it here, it is scarcely conceivable that he 
would be chargeable with the same omission, 
when narrating the arrival of Cadmus, with his 
Phenician colony * ; especially as he says that he 
introduced S/WxaA/a, different branches of learn- 
ing, and, as it appeared to him, even the use of 
letters. He proceeds to give a particular account 
of the Phenician letters, as introduced into 
Greece, and, though afterwards somewhat chan- 
ged, yet still retaining the name of the country 
from which they came. But, while lie shews so 
much acquaintance with this language, had he 
once imagined that the Pelasgi were Phenicians, 
would he ever have expressed himself in the fol- 
lowing manner ? " What language the Pelasgi 

* Lib. v. c. 57, 58. 



OF THE GREEKS. 33 

" used, I cannot certainly affirm. But as far as 
" I may warrantably conjecture from those Pe- 
" lasgi who chiefly remain, — if it be necessary to 
" mention this conjecture, the Pelasgi used a bar- 
" barous language V 

Although small colonies from Egypt, under 
Cecrops and Danaus, settled in Athens and Ar- 
gos, there is not the slightest ground to suppose 
that the Pelasgi were Egyptians. Mr Pinkerton 
has advanced several conclusive arguments on 
this head. He has also shewn, that they were 
neither Celts nor Sarmataet. It is, therefore, 
unnecessary to enter into any particular discus- 
sion of these points. 



§ 8. Of the Origin of the name Pelasgi. 

As it appears undeniable that Greece was 
chiefly peopled by the Pelasgi, it is natural to in- 
quire whence they received their distinctive de- 
signation. This forms the Fourth branch of our 
investigation. But the ancient Greek writers, 
notwithstanding the prominent figure which the 
Pelasgi make in their historical and poetical 
works, give no satisfactory account, either of the 



'Hrscy ci IJiXetcryoi fiet^cc^ov yXacrtrxt i'zvTts* Lib. i. 57. 

f Dissertation, p. 64. — 70. 

c 



S4 ON THE ORIGIN 

origin of this people, or of the reason of their 
name. It is perfectly clear, that they were not 
acquainted with any people who preceded them 
in the possession of Greece. Yet their occupa- 
tion of this country had been in an age so distant, 
that they could not say with certainty, whether 
the name was a patronymic, or had taken its rise 
from some characteristic circumstance. 

As the Greeks were disposed to trace every 
national designation to the supposed founder of 
the race, not a few of their writers have asserted, 
that the Pelasgi were denominated from a prince 
or chief who was named Pelasgus. But as they 
do not pretend to determine the era of his exist- 
ence, it is rather unfavourable to this idea, that 
different authors refer to different persons to 
whom they severally give this name, f Apollodo- 
rus informs us, that, according to Acusilaus, 
" Pelasgus was the son of Jupiter and Niobe, the 
u daughter of Phoroneus, from whom all the in- 
M habitants of Peloponnesus were called Pelasgi;" 
adding, " But Hesiod says that Pelasgus sprung 
"from the soil*." Pausanias quotes the poet 
Asius as uttering the same absurdity t. In an- 



* 'Heltdf $1 toy Tli\x<ryh avjc^fitix $tirtv uixi. BibliotheC. lib. 
ii.c. 1. 

•j* 'A)>Tihov §' TliXxtryh h v^iKo\uoicriv o^trs-t 
Tauct ftiXxtv xvid&ixtVf ttx Svhtuv yi>»s un, 

" The black earth, on the high-locked mountains, brought forth 
° Pelasgus resembling the gods, that there might be a race of 



OF THE GREEKS. 35 

other place, Apollodorus relates from Acusilaus, 
that Lycaon, the son of Pelasgus, who reigned 
in Arcadia, had fifty sons *. In the list here 
given, as the learned Heyne has observed, the 
Arcadians seem to have included the names of 
the founders of all their cities or villages t. An- 
other of the name of Pelasgus is mentioned by 
Dionysius Halicarnassensis, in reference to the ori- 
gin of the Thessalians, who is called the father of 
Haemon, and the grandfather of Thessalus. Dio- 
nysius says that this Pelasgus lived six ages after 
the former, who was the son of Jupiter t. Ac- 
cording to Stephanus Byzantinus, this Pelasgus 
was the uncle of Haemon §. Another, of the 
same name, is called the son of Arestor, the grand- 
son of Ecbasus, the great-grandson of Argus ||. 
This name has also been given to the brother of 
Jasus, and son of Triopas %. J 

Thus it appears, that these ancient writers were 



st mortals." Pausan. Graec. Descr. p. 598, 599. Aeschylus 
transfers this honour to the father of Pelasgus, for he intro- 
duces him as saying, "I am Pelasgus, the son of the earth born 
*• ancient possessor and sovereign of the land/' Danaid. 265. 
Absurd as this idea is, when applied to .the progenitors of 
particular nations, it seems a traditionary memorial of the ori- 
ginal formation of man. 

* Apollod. lib. iii. c. 8. f Obs. in Apollod. ad III. 8. p. 264. 

% Antiq. Rom. lib. i. p. 14«. Lips. 1691. § Yoc. AipovU. 

j| Characis Chron. ap. Steph. Byz, vo. Ilxppccrioc. 

1| Schol. in Iliad, y. 75. 

c2 



36 ON THE ORIGIN 

quite uncertain as to the origin of this name. 
As the Greeks were too proud to acknowledge 
that they were preceded, in the possession of 
their country, by any other people; the poets flat- 
tered th?m by an idea not very reconcileable to 
human pride, that their ancestors had sprung up, 
like mushrooms, from the earth which they call- 
ed their own. Their historians, again, so blend 
mythology with history, and are so inconsistent 
with each other in their accounts, as plainly to 
shew that they were totally in the dark with res- 
pect to this remote era. 

Strabo, who probably disregarded the pretend- 
ed descent from one of the name of Pelasgus, as 
much as the fables of the poets, says ; " The 
" historians of Attica relate, that the Pelasgi, 
u and even those who took up their residence 
" at Athens, because of their wandering habits, 
" and change of place resembling that of birds, 
<c were by the Athenians denominated Pelar- 
" gi," from a word in their language signifying a 
stork * 

Some learned writers, as Grotius, Salmasius, 
and Stillingfleet, suppose that the descendants of 
Peleg, the fourth from Shem, whom they consider 
as the father of the Scythians, were the first who 
peopled Greece, and that they only softened the 
name of Peleg, or according to the Septuagint 
and Vulgate* Phaleg, their progenitor, calling 

• Geograph. lib. v. p. 221. 



OF THE GREEKS. 37 

themselves Pelasgi *. It has been thought, that 
this is confirmed by a passage in Epiphanius, 
who says, that from the age of Therah down- 
ward, Phaleg and Ragau removed towards the 
clime of Europe, to part of Scythia, and were 
joined to those nations from which the Thracians 
came t. 

But it has been proved by Bochart, that Pha- 
leg and Ragau, with their descendants, continued 
in the confines of Media and Armenia. It is also 
evident, from the most ancient and authentic re- 
cords which we have, that " the isles of the Gen- 
" tiles," were peopled by the posterity of Japhet, 
not by that of Shem t. It is well known, that E- 
piphanius was a weak and credulous writer ; and 
there is as little foundation for what he says of 
Phaleg, as for his assertion in the same place, 
that the Thracians had their origin from Therah 
the father of Abraham. 

(Other writers have traced the name Pelasgi to 
'arihccyo^ ; supposing that they were thus denomi- 
nated " from their passing by sea, and wandering 
" from one country to another." It has been 
said, indeed, that " the sea is called Pelagus from 
" the Hebrew word Peleg, as dividing one coun- 
" try from another §." The derivation of the 
name from mm-ycs is liable to several objections. 



* V. Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. 139. \ Respons. ad Epist. Acac. et Paul. 
t Gen. x. 2—5. § Astle's Progr. of Writing, p. 52. 

c 3 



38 ON THE ORIGIN 

There is not the slightest evidence that the term, 
denoting the sea, was ever written mKa^y^) Had 
it ever assumed this form, traces of it must have 
been perceived in some dialect, iiysome of its 
composites, or in some ancient writing or inscrip- 
tion. /Nlor would the Greeks have preferred the 
insertion of the letter o-, as softening the sound. 
JlihoLyot being a sound much more suited to a Gre- 
cian ear than ntWyo/, they would far more readily 
have ejected the sibilation.) Besides this desig- 
nation, as given to the people, or assumed by 
them, seems to have such characters of antiquity, 
that it may well be questioned, if in so early a pe- 
riod the word ^Vayc? was used in the country after- 
wards called Greece, as denoting the sea. This 
etymon, also, proceeds on a petitio principiL 
For it must be previously assumed, as an un- 
questionable fact, that the Pelasgi had come to 
Greece by sea ; or, at any rate, that before their 
settlement in this country, they were known to 
some who possessed it, and who then used the 
word in this sense, as a people much given to 
maritime expeditions. This is to suppose, in- 
deed, what is contradicted by the Greek writers 
themselves, that their country was inhabited be- 
fore the arrival of the Pelasgi. 

f The origin of the name of this celebrated peo- 
ple must, therefore, be viewed as lost in the dark- 
ness of antiquity. That assigned by Rudbeck 
Seems just as reasonable as those already examin- 
ed. As Strabo says that they were denominated 



OF THE GREEKS. 89 

from their wandering habits, the learned Scandi- 
navian views the term Pelasgi as of Scythian 
origin, q. Faelaskione, from faelas, vagare, pere- 
grinare, (for the ancient Goths had not the letter 
^?,) and koene, populus *. J 



§ 9. The Scythian origin of the Pelasgi 
proved from Testimony* 

The principal branch of our inquiry regards 
the origin of this people. Where the accounts 
of the most ancient and most creditable writers 
are enfeebled by mere conjecture, obscured by ob- 
vious inconsistencies, and even involved in fable, 
with respect to the bulk of those whom they claim 
as the founders of the different nations which 
were eventually associated for the defence of 
Greece, it were presumption to say that this ques- 
tion is attended with no difficulty. In the inves- 
tigation of subjects of such remote antiquity, a 
high degree of probability is often the utmost that 
can be attained. ( It is not, therefore, asserted, 
that we have the same direct evidence that the 
Pelasgi were Scythians, as that the followers of 
Cadmus were Phenicians.) The evidence is only 
to be viewed as of that kind commonly called cir- 
cumstantial. How defective soever the proof 

* Atlantic. II. p. 117, 118. 
c 4f 



40 ON THE ORIGIN 

may appear, we may venture to affirm that all 
that deserves the name of evidence goes to shew 
that the Pelasgi, and of consequence the great 
mass of those in subsequent ages denominated 
Greeks, were of Scythian origin. 

(This may be inferred from the general testimony 
of ancient writers. It is acknowledged by the 
Greeks, that their country was at first peopled 
by those whom they call barbarians. Strabo re- 
lates, on the authority of Hecataeus Milesius, 
that Peloponnesus, " before the time of the Hel- 
" lenes, was inhabited by barbarians ;" adding, 
" And indeed almost all Greece was anciently 
" the seat of barbarians, which may be demon- 
" strated from these things which are still kept 
" in remembrance. For Pelops brought with 
" him a colony from Phrygia, into the country 
" called after him Peloponnesus, as Danaus did 
" from Egypt. Also the Dryopes, the Caucones, 
" the Pelasgi, the Leleges, and others of a simi- 
" lar description, obtained settlements within, 
" as well as those without, the Isthmus. For the 
" Thracians, who came with Eumolpus, posses- 
" sed Attica ; Tereus the son of Phocis, Daulis ; 
" the Phenicians, the companions of Cadmus, 
" Cadmeia ; the Aeonians, Tembices, and Hy- 
" antes, Boeotia. — Besides, some of the names 
M acknowledge a barbarous origin, as Cecrops, 
" Codrus, Aeclus, Cothus, Drymas, and Crina- 
" nus. The Thracians also, the Illyrians, and 
" Epirots, even now occupy the confines of 



OF THE GREEKS. 41 

" Greece. That this was much more the case 
" in former ages, appears from this, that in our 
" own time the barbarians possess many parts 
" of that district which is undoubtedly Greece. 
" The Thracians hold Macedonia, and certain 
" parts of Thessaly. Above Acarnania and Ae- 
" tolia, are the Thesproti, Cassopaei, Amphi- 
" lochi, Molossi and Athamanes, nations of Epi- 
« rus. — The whole country now called Ionia, 
" was anciently inhabited by the Leleges and 
" Carians, which the Ionians, having driven them 
" out, possessed *.") 

I do not rest the argument on the general ac- 
knowledgment, that the first possessors of Greece 
were barbarians. For this term is used with such 
latitude, as to include all with whose language 
and manners the Greeks were unacquainted. 
One thing, however, is evident from this ac- 
knowledgment, that the Greeks were fully con- 
vinced that those who preceded them, or in 
other words, their ancestors, spoke a language 
very different from that which prevailed in the 
ages of posterior refinement. From the enumera- 
tion of those nations, to which the early posses- 
sion of Greece is ascribed, it also appears that 
some of them were of Scythian origin. 

(The Phrygians, the first nation mentioned, 
were from Thrace. Eustathius, in Dionys., says, 
that, " as the Thracians were anciently called 

* Geogr. lib. vii. p. 321. 



42 ON THE ORIGIN 

" Briges, when they migrated into Asia, their 

* name was changed to Phryges *." The same 
thing is asserted by Strabo t, and by Herodotus, 
who adds, that " while they remained in Eu- 
" rope, they were neighbours to the Macedon- 
" ians %£* It being undeniable that the Thra- 
cians were Getae, it thus appears, that the cele- 
brated Trojans were originally Scythians. ) 

'The Dry opes, it is believed, were the remains 
of the Carians, who, according to Thucydides, 
made frequent incursions into Greece ||. The 
Mysians, who were certainly the same Scythian 
people called Moesians §, were, as Herodotus 
says, descended from Mysus the brother of Ca- 
ris, who is accounted the progenitor of the Ca- 
rians If. We certainly know from Herodotus, 

* V. Sheringhara de Angl. Gent. p. 479. 

f Geogr. lib. vii. p. 29.5. x. 471. % Lib. viii. c. 73. 

}| Thucyd. lib. i. Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. 140. 

§ Strabo says; " The Getae possessed both sides of the 
" Danube ; and the Mysians themselves, also Thracians,, but 
" now called Mysians; from whom sprung the Mysians who 
" dwelt among the Lydians, Phrygians, and Trojans." — Kxi m 

MvG-91, QpCtKbS OVTig' KKt XVT6I, kxi tig rv* MWTZg xxteo-ivy &c. 

Geogr. lib. vii. p. 295. This diligent inquirer makes the My- 
sians Scythae. For he says, that according to Artemido- 
rus, " Olympic Mysia is occupied by a colony of the Mysians 
"from beyond the Danube;'* Lib. xii. p. 571. Ci The My. 

* sians," he adds, " were a nation of the Pelasgi, Caucones, 
" and Leleges." Ibid. p. 572. Strabo refers to Homer as de- 
nominating the Mysians Thracians ; Lib. vii. p. 295. 

f Hist. lib. i. 171. 



OF THE GREEKS. 43 

that the Pelasgi were settled in the district cal- 
led Dryopis*, which some place in Epirus, others 
in Thessaly.) 

( There seems to be reason to think that the 
Caucones were Scythians. We learn from Strabo, 
that some " reckoned them Scythians, others 
" Macedonians, and some Pelasgi t./ It may 
afterwards appear, that their being accounted 
Macedonians or Pelasgi, was no wise inconsis- 
tent with Scythian descent. Herodotus says, 
that the Caucones either accommodated their 
language to the Carians, or the Carians to the 
Caucones. He reckons them indigenous, al- 
though they affirmed that they were from Crete t. 
As Homer conjoins the Caucones, with the Le- 
leges and Pelasgi, his scholiast says, that " they 
" were a Paphlagonian nation, Scythians accord- 
" ing to some, and as others supposed, the same 
" people who were called Caucani ||." It seems 
highly probable, that those who are sometimes 
called by Homer KaJxa»ec are the same people 
elsewhere denominated Kmon^. For in one place 
the Caucones are conjoined with the Paeonae, 
and the Cicones in the other. Both these na- 



* Hist. i. 56. f Geogr. lib. xii. p. 544. 

J Hist. lib. i. c. 172. 

U Iliad, k. 429. By comparing the scholium here with that 
on v. 329, Ketwltts seems to be an erratum for K«vx«k/»j. For 
the Cauni were Mauritanians. 



44 ON THE ORIGIN 



tions, according to Eustathius, were Thracians ; 
and the one bordered with the other *. 

(The Leleges were, after the age of Homer, 
denominated Mysomacedones, or Macedonians 
mingled with Mysians. They are thus designed 
by Ptolemy, and apparently by Pliny t. Strabo, 
in the passage from which we have given a large 
extract, says, that " many held the Leleges to 
" be the same with the Carians." This is abun- 
dantly congruous with their name Mysomace- 
dones ; for as we have seen, the Carians were 
accounted congenerous with the Mysi. This is 
also confirmed by the testimony of Herodotus, 
who says, that " the Carians of old were subject 
" to Minos, and having the name of Leleges in- 
" habited the islands t." 

The Thracians are mentioned as colonists un- 
der Eumolpus. That they were Scythians has 
been already proved. I am inclined to think that 
the Aeones, and Hyantes, had the same origin ; 
the former being, in the fabulous history of 
Greece, traced to Aon the son of Neptune, and 
the latter to Hyas the son of Atlas ||. They, as 
well as the Tembkes^ appear to have been of 
Thracian extract. For Strabo, when elsewhere 
speaking of those who settled in Boeotia, says 
that " formerly the Thracians and Pelasgi, and 



* Iliad. /3. 846, S4S. f Nat. Hist. v. 29. 

± Hist. i. 171. J| V. Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. 190. 



OF THE GREEKS. 45 

" other barbarous nations, invading the Boeo- 
" tians, took possession of their country*." 

The Illyrians, mentioned by Strabo as neigh- 
bours of the Greeks, have, on the authority of 
Horace, been considered as Scythians t. The 
Epirots, it would appear, were originally Thra- 
cians, and of consequence Scythae. For Chao- 
nia, the most northern part of Epirus, had its 
name from its most ancient inhabitants the Chao- 
nes, who, according to the scholiast on Aristo- 
phanes, were descended from the Thracians t. 
It ought also to be observed that Thesprotia, one 
of the three divisions of Epirus, was " formerly 
" called Pelasgia ||." ) 

m We learn from Trogus Pompeius, as abridged 
by Justin, that the people of Macedon were an- 
ciently called Pelasgi §. If we compare this tes- 
timony with that already brought from Strabo, 
that " the Thracians held Macedonia," we may 
reasonably conclude that the Pelasgi were Scy- 
thae. 

( The name of the Macedonians has been view- 
ed, by some learned writers as exhibiting strong- 
traces of the scriptural designation Ckittim, which 
is generally understood as denoting Greece in 
all its extent, and the adjacent isles. Hesychius 
calls Macedonia Maxerr/a, whence by Roman 



* Geogr. lib. ix. p. 410. V. Anc. Univ. Hist. x. 64, N. 
f V. Pinkerton's Diss. p. 57, 58. J Anc. Univ. Hist. x. 65. 
|] Herodot. lib. ii. c. 56. § Lib. viii. c. 1. 



46 ON THE ORIGIN 

writers it has been designed Macetia, and its in- 
habitants Macetiae*. The author of the first 
book of Maccabees designs Perseus of Macedon, 
KiTTituv fiotaikzot, " king of the Chittim t." The 
prophet Isaiah thus denounces the destruction of 
Tyre, which was undoubtedly accomplished by 
Alexander the Great ; " From the land of Chit- 
" tim it is revealed unto them t.''J 

This interpretation has every appearance of 
probability, although Bochart applies the term to 
the Italians [|. But no light is thrown on the ini- 
tial syllable of the name. One can scarcely a- 
void recollecting what has been already observed 
from Strahlenberg, concerning the Greek desig- 
nation of one great body of the Scythians, Mem 
sa-getae, Ma-sgetae or Ma-schytae. Shall we 
suppose that this is originally the same witli Ma. 
KiTTdi ? Could this supposition be indulged, it 
might be conjectured that the name virai, which 
we have seen, is most probably only a variety of 
2*J0a/ 5 did not radically differ from Kerr*/, the con- 
stituent part of M«.KtTTxi. This, however, I throw 
out merely as a vague conjecture. 
(Scythae, indeed, has evidently been a generic 
name, as including a variety of tribes, who re- 
ceived a common designation from some cirenm. 
stance in which they all agreed. Perhaps it may 



* Aul. Gell. lib. ix. c. 3. f Chap. viii. 5. 

t Isa. xxiii. i. V. Stockii Claw vo. D\TU. 
ij Phaleg. lib. iii. c. 5. p. 179. 



OF THE GREEKS. 47 

be worthy of observation, that, although Chittim, 
or Kittim, was originally a patronymic *, it seems 
to have been extended to more families -than one 
among the posterity of Japhet. For, according 
to the common interpretation, besides the Mace- 
donians, it includes the Iones, who were un* 
doubtedly the descendants of Javan, or as the 
word may justly be read, Ion ; and the Aeoles, 
who appear to have sprung from Elisha. He 
seems, indeed, to have given his name to the 
Hellespont, qu. Elisae pontus, and to Hellas, or 
Greece in general t. For we can lay no stress 
on what we learn from the fabulous history of 
Greece, concerning a leader of the name of Hel- 
len, from whom, it is said, the Hellenes were de- 
nominated. It is by no means improbable, that 
the Dodonaei, the most ancient inhabitants of one 
of the divisions of Epirus, were the descendants 
of Dodanim, the son of Javan, and the brother of 
Kittim. It might seem favourable to the idea of 
the original identity of the names Then andKerTa/, 
or Kittim, that both have been used with similar 
latitude. J 

* Gen x. 4. f Bochart. Phaleg. lib. iii. c. 4% 



I 



48 ON THE ORIGIN 



§ 10. Of the Fr ogress of the Pelasgi. 

The Scythian origin of the Pelasgi is illustrat- 
ed by their progress. It has been conjectured, 
from one interpretation of their name, that they 
came by sea into Greece. But there seems to be 
no sufficient ground for this hypothesis. They 
indeed peopled several islands in the Aegean sea. 
But this of itself proves nothing. Some of these 
were so near the main-land, that we cannot sup- 
pose any people to possess the one without wish- 
ing to extend their sway to the other ; and none 
of them were so distant as, even in an early stage 
of navigation, to deter so adventurous a people. 
The name of one of these islands, Samothrace *, 
which was an ancient habitation of the Pelasgi, 
undoubtedly appears as a memorial of the coun- 
try from which they came. It had evidently bor- 
rowed its designation from the parental country 
of Thrace, from which it was distant only thirty- 
eight miles t. From the account given by He- 
rodotus, we find them first in Thessaly, in the 
neighbourhood of Olympus, and of Pindus, on 
the borders of Macedon, as if on their way from 
Thrace. For they roamed in these regions for a 
while, like a hive that had not found a proper 
resting-place, before they entered Peloponnesus. 
We have formerly seen, that according to the 

* Herod, lib. ii. c. 51. t Cellar. Geogr. i. 1086. 



OF THE GREEKS. 49 

Greek writers, the first who entered this country 
was Apis, that he entered it from Aetolia, and 
that the peninsula, before his time, was uninha- 
bited # . Had they come from any eastern region 
by sea, they would undoubtedly have entered 
Peloponnesus before they reached Aetolia or the 
countries to the north. 

Dionysius Halicarnassensis ascribes the migra- 
tion of the Pelasgi from Thessaly to their being 
expelled by the Curetes and Leleges, " now," he 
says, " called Aetolians and Locri, and by many 
" other inhabitants of Parnassus." " Their ene- 
" mies," he adds, " had for their leaders Deu- 
" calion, the son of Prometheus and Clymene the 
<c daughter of Oceanus. Some of the exiles 
" sought to Crete, others took possession of cer- 
a tain of the Cyclades ; part occupied Estiotis, 
" the region contiguous to Ossa and Olympus ; 
" another division entered into Boeotia,Phocis, and 
<c Eubaea ; some crossing into Asia, seized on the 
" maritime places about the Hellespont, and the 
" adjacent islands, as well as that which is now 
" denominated Lesbos. — But the greatest part 
" betook themselves through the inland country 
" to their kinsmen the Dodoneans." After this, 
in consequence of an oracle, part of them went 
to Italy t. 

When we find the territories of the Pelasgi, ac- 

* See above, p. 19, 20. 

f Antiq. Roman, lib. i. p. 14. 15. Edit. Lips. 1691. 

d 



50 ON THE ORIGIN 

cording to Aeschylus, extending to the river 
Strymon, which was the ancient boundary between 
Macedonia and Thrace *, as we know that they 
did not, for ages, take possession of the/peninsula, 
the idea naturally occurs, that they occupied these 
northern dominions on their way from their prime- 
val seats. Even in a latter age, there were remains 
of this people in the neighbourhood of the river 
Strymon. Could we suppose that their name had 
originally been pronounced without the letter s y 
we might view it as retained in that of the Pela- 
gones, and in Pelagonia, a smaller district of 
Paeonia in Macedon. But, not to lay any stress 
on what is uncertain, we know that, in the time 
of Herodotus, Crestonia, the region in upper 
Macedon immediately to the north of Pelagonia, 
was inhabited by Pelasgi t. This, at least, affords 
a strong presumption that the Pelagonians ac- 
knowledged the same origin. The city, from 
which the district of Crestonia, or, according to 
another orthography, Grestonia, received its name, 
was the eastern frontier of Macedonia towards 
Thrace. Stephen of Byzantium calls Creston 
" a city of Thrace t" From a comparison of 
ancient writers, it is evident that there is no con- 
tradiction, while the one speaks of it as belonging 
to Thrace, and others, as Thucydides, include it 



g«*uv. Scylax, ap. Cellar, i. 847. 

f Hist. lib. i. c. 57. % Vo. KftVn. 



OF THE GREEKS* 51 

in Macedon. For we learn, from the last men- 
tioned historian, that the Macedonians conquered 
it, i. e. they broke it off from the Thracian do- 
minions *. " These Pelasgi," says Herodotus, 
" inhabit the city Creston above the Tyrseni," 
or " Tyrrheni." He subjoins, that they were,, 
"for a time, the nearest neighbours of those 
" whom we at present name Dorians, then in*. 
" habiting the region which is now denominated 
" Thessaliotis t." Rennel supposes that Tyrseni 
is an error for Thermaei; as Therma, afterwards 
Thessalonica, agrees to the situation t. 

Dionysius Halicarnassensis has afforded occa- 
sion for this misapprehension. For, instead of 
Crestoniatae, when quoting Herodotus, he reads 
Crotoniatae ; viewing the language as referring to 
Crotona in Italy ||. But Dionysius has supplied 
a corrective for his own mistake. As various 
learned writers have preferred his reading, not 
perceiving how Herodotus could speak of Tyr- 
seni as dwelling in Thrace, we learn from Diony- 
sius, that the greatest part of the Pelasgi who left 
Tuscany, where they had long resided, " were 
" diffused through Greece and the regions pos- 
" sessed by barbarians ;" and that, " from the 
" name of the country which they had deserted, 
" and in commemoration of their ancient origin, 
" the same people were denominated both Tyrr- 



* Thucyd. lib. ii. p. 168. f Hist. lib. i. c. 57. 
% Geogr. of Herod, p. 45. || Antiq. Roman, lib. i. p. 23. 

d2 



52 ON THE ORIGIN 

u heni and Pelasgi." * This," he subjoins, " I 
" have said, least any one, hearing from the poets 
" and historians, that the Pelasgi are also called 
" Tyrrheni, might wonder how the same people 
" should receive both names." 

He then goes on to quote Thucydides and So- 
phocles in confirmation of what he had said. u For 
" Thucydides, when speaking of the cities on the 
" borders of Thrace, asserts that they were inha- 
" bited by people of two languages. Concerning 
" the Pelasgic nation he thus expresses himself; 

• There are also some there of the Chalcidici, 
' but the greatest part is of the Pelasgic nation, 
c of the Tyrrhenians who formerly inhabited 
< Lemnos and Athens.' Sophocles also in his 
" Inachus ascribes to the chorus this song, c Father 

• Inachus, son of the sources of the ocean, whom 
' the inhabitants of Argos, and the Tyrrhenian 

• Pelasgi, greatly venerate *." In the passage 
first referred to, Thucydides places these cities 
in the neighbourhood of mount Athos. On this 
Occasion he also mentions Crestonia t. 

The account given by Herodotus, is also con- 
firmed by the testimony of Pliny. Speaking of 
Etruria he says ; " Thence the Pelasgi anciently 
4C expelled the Umbri ;" adding that the Lydians, 
who " expelled the Pelasgi, were surnamed Tvrr- 

heni from their leader J." The Lydians, it has 



a 



* Dionys. Hal. p. 18. 20. f Hist - Iib - iv - P- 32o. 

X Umbros inde exagere antiquitus Pelasgi :. hos Lydi, a quo- 
rum rege Tyrrlieni — sunt cognominati. Hist. Nat. lib. iii. c. 5- 



i 



Of THE GREEKS. 53 

been seen, from their affinity to the Mysians or 
Moesians, are to be accounted Scythae. Pliny, 
and Strabo, who makes Tyrrhenus the son of 
Atys *, adopt the general plan of ancient writers, 
in ascribing the origin of a national designation, 
for want of a better etymon, to some prince or 
chief. But, from comparing their language with 
that of Herodotus, it may be conjectured that 
these adventurers had this distinctive name be- 
fore they left their own country. As we find 
this designation in Macedonia, if it cannot be 
concluded that the progenitors of the Etrurians 
came immediately from that region, we may sup- 
pose, that the Lydians, as descended from these 
Tyrseni on the borders of Thrace, retained their 
parental name at the time that their colony went 
into Italy. If they actually expelled those called 
Pelasgi, they only did what one congenerous peo- 
ple, breaking forth in a new migration, has often 
done to another. 



§11. Of the Language of the Pelasgu 

Ancient history affords an additional proof of 
national affinity, in the resemblance marked be- 
tween the language of the Greeks and that of the 
Scythians. It may be objected, perhaps, that, 
however far this might go to prove a relation be- 

'* * Geogr. lib. v. p. 219. 
dS 



54 ON THE ORIGIN 

tweerTthe Greeks and Scythians, it can conduce 
nothing to the probation of the point immediately 
under consideration ; because it still remains to 
be proved, that the Greek language Was radically 
the same with that of the Pelasgi. 

It must be admitted, indeed, that Herodotus 
does not seem to have been aware of this radical 
identity. He speaks, as if he had been an 
entire stranger to the distinguishing characters 
of the Pelasgi, and even as impressed with the 
idea that the Greek language had still remain- 
ed distinct, without any mixture or alteration. 
" But what language," he says, " the Pelasgi 
u used, I cannot state with certainty. If, how- 
" ever, it may be permitted to speak of them by 
" conjecture, from those who constitute the prin- 
" cipal remains of the Pelasgi, who, dwelling 
<c above the Tyrseni, inhabit the city Creston, 
<w and of the Pelasgi who inhabit Placia and Scy- 
" lax in the Hellespont, and once lived together 
" with the Athenians ; and whatever other Pe- 
" lasgic towns changed their names ; if it be pro- 
" per to speak by conjecture, the Pelasgi used a 
cc barbarous language. If, then, the whole Pe- 
" lasgic nation was such, the Attic nation, being 
" Pelasgic, when it entered among the Hellenes, 
" also learned the language of the latter. For 
"neither does the language of the Crestonians, 
" nor of the Placians, agree with that of those 
" who live around them. They agree, however, 
" with each other ; and shew that what character 



OF THE GREEKS. 65 

" soever their language bore, when they took up 
" their residence in these places, the same it still 
" retains. But the Hellenic nation, as it appears 
" to me, has from its very existence always used 
" the same language. This nation, when it was sepa- 
" rated from the Pelasgic, being weak, from small 
" beginnings increased by frequent accessions, 
" especially of conterminous nations, and of others 
" that were barbarous. According to my appre- 
" hension, however, the Pelasgic nation, being 
" barbarous, never greatly increased V 

Throughout this passage the historian acknow- 
ledges, that he expresses himself merely in the 
way of conjecture. It appears that he had never 
made an attempt to examine the structure of the 
language of the Pelasgi. So little was he ac- 
quainted with it, that he seems at a loss whether 
he could, with certainty, apply to it that epithet, 
which operated as a powerful spell on the minds 
of the Greeks, apparently forbad the condescen- 
sion of inquiry, and stigmatised every people, or 
object to which it was applied, as unworthy of re- 
gard. He is evidently at a loss to reconcile 
what he had conjecturally thrown out, as to the 
barbarism of the language of this ancient people, 
with the indusputable fact that the Athenians 
were originally Pelasgi. Pie therefore supposes, 
what has been contradicted by universal expe- 
rience, that the Pelasgi must have totally renoun- 

* Hist. lib. i. c. 57, 58. 

d4> 



56 ON THE ORIGIN 

ced their own tongue, and adopted that of a 
people who were originally less powerful than 
themselves. In making this supposition, he is 
evidently chargeable with gross inconsistency in 
various instances. He supposes the Athenian 
nation to have entered among the Hellenes, when 
it is undeniable, even from his own testimony 
elsewhere, that the Pelasgi were the first settlers 
in Peloponnesus. He also supposes that the Hel- 
lenic tongue, from the first existence of the people 
who spoke it, remained invariably the same, at the 
very time that he acknowledges their intermixture 
with a variety of other nations, some of which 
were barbarous. He even goes so far as to sup- 
pose, that the Pelasgi gave up their language out 
of compliment to a nation originating from them- 
selves ; and still farther, that the Hellenes, who 
thus broke off from the ancient stock, while they 
continued to speak their own language, spoke a 
language which had no resemblance to that of 
their progenitors. 

Whence this strange perplexity and inconsist- 
ency ? Could this intelligent writer coolly think 
that the language of the Pelasgi was radically 
different from that of the Hellenes ? He could not 
indulge this idea, without denying the consangui- 
nity of the nations. But he evidently gave his 
sentiments on this subject without sufficient in- 
formation. He suffered himself to be blinded by 
appearances, without carefully investigating facts. 



OF THE GREEKS. 57 

He appears to have known only as much of the 
Pelasgic, as to be assured that it was very dif- 
ferent from the language which he spoke and 
wrote. 

For illustrating the reason of the dissonance, 
remarked by Herodotus, between two languages 
radically the same, I have nothing better to offer 
than what has been already said by a learned 
writer, who has paid great attention to this sub- 
ject. u The Greek tongue,'' he observes, V had 
" been thrown into a ferment by a slight mixture 
fi of Phenician, and had been purified with all 
" the art and attention of the wisest and most 
if ingenious men in the world. It was the Pelas- 
C( gic, but the Pelasgic refined, as the English is 
M from the Saxon. No wonder that in Greece, 
" a country where every city was as it were a dis- 
* tinct people, some few cities, and some moun- 
f( taineers and islanders, should have retained the 
" old dialect, and that it was as dissimilar from 
" polished Greek as Saxon from English ; and 
ff should also, from detached situation, have 
" kept up the old barbaric manners. — These scat- 
*' tered fragments of Pelasgi must not be con- 
" founded with the latter Greeks, being only 
" remnants of old colonies expelled from Italy, 
" or late migrations of small parties from Thrace, 
c< the parent country of Pelasgi ; and that they 
? retained their primitive barbaric speech and 
Cl manners, was a necessary consequence of their 



58 ON THE ORIGIN 



* late arrival from remote and uncultivated re- 
" gions *. 



§ 12. Resemblance of the Greek Language to 
that of the Scythians. 

( Let us now advert to the historical proofs of 
similarity between the Greek language and that 
of the Scythians. It might be viewed as a strong 
presumption of the identity of the Pelasgir and 
Scythian, that those Pelasgi who inhabited Cres- 
tonia, a district, as we have seen, originally be- 
longing to Thrace, retained their barbaric speech. 
It is well known that the language of those emi- 
grants, who reside nearest to their parental seats, 
or who have been the latest colonists, is most 
unadulterated. But indeed, there is every reason 
to think that these Crestonians, occupying a part 
of ancient Thrace, possessed their primitive seats, 
and spoke the language of their country, which 
was Getic or Scythian. We do not, however, 
urge this argument ; as it is a point which cannot 
be determined, whether the Crestonians had still 
continued there, had recently migrated from 
Scythia, or had formed a part of those Pelasgi 
who had been driven from Etruria. 

Clemens Alexandrinus, who seems to have been 

I 

* Pmkertcm's Dissert, p. 60, 61. 



OF THE GREEKS. 59 

the most learned among the fathers, when speak- 
ing of the great benefit which the Greeks had de- 
rived from those whom they called Barbarians, 
expresses himself in the following manner; " If 
" any one finds fault with the barbarous language, 
« Truly it appears to me,' says Anacharsis, ' that 
c all the Greeks are Scythians', or ' speak after the 
1 manner of Scythians.*" Elsewhere he calls him 
" Anacharsis the Scythian;" observing that by 
some he was reckoned the seventh of the wise 
men; and that he " is said to have excelled many 
" of the Greek philosophers t". 

Diodorus Siculus says that " the Hyperboreans 
<c used a peculiar language, which nearly ap- 
" proached to the speech of the Athenians and of 
" the inhabitants of Delis, V s He assigns a reason 
for the resemblance, which is by no means suffi- 
cient to account for it, the familiar intercourse 
which formerly took place between those nations. 
A far more valid reason is afterwards assigned, al- 



* "Ei 2g rig t1)V Qmw SixfixXtet r*iv fix^fix^cv, 'Eftot S«, <pn<rh a 

J Avx%x£<ng, Wm? "exxws o-KvOtfrn. Stromat. lib. i. p. 225. Ed. 
Lugd. 1616. 

f Ibid. p. 219. 323. 

\. Yare§€o£j{*s idixv nvx otxhiKrov, kxi 7r£>g t»$ EXX^vctg c'iKiiorxrx 
6ioiKi7<rdett, kxi pxAurrx 7r^og rug Adnvxiag kx) AjjA/sj, Ik 7rx^xtav %govav 
TrxgiiXntyoTocg Tyy ivvotxv rxvi-/iv. kxi rav EAAsjiraiv nvxg TrxgxGxhiTv tig 

iKifatVig. KXI XVxQvftXTX 7T0XvTi?UJ KXTXXt7Ti7v 9 y£ct[&(tx<riv EXXnviKoTg 

i7riyiy£Xf4.pivx } acrxvrag $i kxi Ik tuv Idrefiogav 'A&x^iV Ug rh EXXx^x 

XXTXVTVarxVTX TO KXXxtOV, XVXVWCTXt TKV TTQOg A^hlUg IVVOIXV T£ KXt <TVy 

yznixv. Bibl. Graec. lib. ii. c. 47. 



60 ON THE ORIGIN 

though it does not seem to have been attended 
to by writers on this subject. For Abaris is said 
to have come into Greece, to preserve with the 
Delians, not only friendship, but the remembrance 
of their " consanguinity," or " common origin." 
Plato makes this acknowledgement, how un- 
grateful soever to the pride of Greece: " But 
<c the barbarians are more ancient than we;" tes- 
tifying also, that the fountain of those words, fo* 
which they could find no origin, could be no 
where found but amongst these barbarians*. 
^ We have seen, that Herodotus insinuates that 
Cadmus not only introduced different branches 
of learning, but " even the use of letters" into 
Greece t. This however he gives merely as his 
own conjecture without offering any proof. The 
testimony of Diodorus Siculus, however, has been 
urged by Ihre and other learned writers as directly 
opposed to this. According to the sense in which 
his language has been viewed by Wesseling, 
Bouhier, and various commentators, he relates, 
on the testimony of a former writer of the name 
of Dionysius, that the poet Linus first changed 
into the Greek enunciation " the letters which 



* Enr<$ £nTcH Tctvrei xxrci th» 'EA*j»v«*»jr Quvk* «j «ofc«T*f xhtxi, xXXx 
ptn x&T Itcuvii* fc| Ki to ov9/xcc TvyyjotvH ov, aitrticc otl xxept xt. — Ux^x ouj- 
Gx^&v Tivat ctinac 7rx£ei\v<pxfisv («<r< £e kjmh xyx/xuniztk /3*£©*£«<) * *rt 
vx« -rxhxioiYiToc xovvetTt* xvrx Ixi^nci-^Aa^my &.T7TiP xxi tx ,<3*£©«g«uc. 

In Cratyl. Oper. i. p. 409. 426, 427- 
f Lib. v. c. 58. 



OF THE GREEKS. 61 

" had been brought from Fhenicia by Cadmus,' 
giving to each its name and distinguishing cha- 
racter; and that " hence these letters were com* 
" monly called Phepician, as being brought from 
" that country;" adding, " But their proper letters 
# which the Pelasgi first used with the changed 
" characters, were denominated Pelasgic. — Linus 
" therefore wrote the exploits of the first Bacchus 
M in Pelasgic letters. Orpheus also used the same 
ff kind of letters, and Pronapides the preceptor of 
M Homer, and Thymoetes &c.*" 

I am not, however, quite satisfied, that Dio- 
dorus here means to give it as the assertion of 
the writer to whom he refers, that the Pelasgi 
absolutely had the use of letters before the intro- 
duction of the Phenician. The sense of the 
passage chiefly depends on the interpretation of 
the word fifa* Perhaps it is only meant that the 
letters, which had at first the Phenician form, 
when changed by Linus, were afterwards deno- 
minated Pelasgian, because the Pelasgi were the 
people who first used them as thus altered. If 



* ®y<rt Totvvv nag EXXncri irgarcv evgirh yivirdxi ATvov py^tcSj text 
fiiXxs. tri ol, KctOf/.a Ko { ula-xvrog he Q>otvtx.*ig rx x-xXSp-vx ypxpftxTX, 
•xparov Ug rl)V EXXwixqv ftirxdeivxi eiixXiKTov, xxi rxg rtpotrqyoyxg 
sxetru tx%xi, kx\ ixg yjxpxy.r'vipxg ^ixrv7rarxt. xoivvj {aiv rx ypotfipxTX- 
Qomxix kX^vxi, hx to nxpx r\tg EXXnvxg Ik QoivUav ptt&iyjlwxu 
Mix di rm \\iXx<rym ir^aruv x^tic-xptvav roig p.iTx6ti<rt ^x^xktkpo-(, 
HiXxryiKX T^oirxyo^ivSiivxi. — Tov Ss bv ATvov tyxo-l ToTg TltXxcryixolg 
y^etpfixri o-vvrxlxuivov rxg t* 7r^ari£ AiovvriS TrexZ&s, &C. Diod. 

Sic. Biblioth. lib. iii. c. 66. p. 236. 



62 ON THE ORIGIN 

this be the meaning, his language will be found 
rather to agree with that of Herodotus, when he 
speaks of the Greeks as, in a posterior age, 
changing " the sound of the rhythm of the letters,'* 
which he views as introduced by Cadmus. 

It has been supposed that the Pelasgic letters 
were those called Attic, which are explained by 
Hesychius, Ci ancient, belonging to the country *." 
It is conjectured by Heinsius, that they were thus 
denominated by the Cadmean colony, not from 
the city of Athens, nor from Atthis the daughter 
of Cranaus, but from a Hebrew word signifying 
ancient^. This designation is rather favourable to 
the idea, that the Pelasgic letters were used be- 
fore the introduction of the Phenician. For un- 
less we suppose that these letters were changed 
a second time, the term Attic could be applicable 
only to those deemed most ancient, and therefore 
exclusively to the Pelasgic. As Diodorus says, 
that the language of the Hvpe-rboreans " nearly 
" approached to that of the Athenians," and as the 
ancient letters of the Greeks were called Att**, 
there seems reason to conclude that these were the 
Hyperborean or Scythian letters. Besides, we 
learn from Diodorus, that Orpheus used these 
letters. But he being of Thrace, and of course 
a Scythian, would undoubtedly prefer the letters 
which he had learned in his native country. 

It is generally admitted, that " the Pelasgic 



OF THE GREEKS. 63 

u alphabet, which prevailed in Greece before the 
" age of Deucalion, consisted of sixteen letters.*" 
It would appear that the arrival of Cadmus in 
Greece was nearly about the time of Moses ; al- 
though, according to Sir Isaac Newton's chrono- 
logy, it was much later. In the age of Moses the 
Hebrews had twenty-two letters. These being 
originally the same with the Phenician, it is not 
conceivable that Cadmus would give the Greeks 
an alphabet so deficient as to contain only sixteen. 
But it deserves particular observation, that this 
was the exact number of the old Runic letterst. 
Priscian informs us, that the Goths did not in- 
crease the number of their letters till Christianity 
began to prevail amongst them. By the time of 
Ulphilas, their number had increased to twenty- 
five. I may observe, by the way, that, as the in- 
vention of letters has been ascribed to Thoth or 
Mercury, the caduceus, his constant symbol, has 
been viewed as denoting this inestimable inven- 
tion; and some northern writers have carried the 
matter so far, as to attempt to shew that this rod, 
entwined with two serpents, exhibits the forms of 
all the original Runic characters. 

It has been urged by learned writers, as a 
strong argument against the Phenician origin of 



* Astle's Origin and Progress, p. 53. V. Priscian. Grammat. 
lib. i. fol. 2, b. Edit. Par. 1517.- 

f V. Verelii Runograph. p. 69. Rudbeck. Atlantic. 1.834-5, 
Junii Goth. Gloss, p. 20, 21. 



64 ON THE ORIGIN 

the Pelasgic, that the Phenicians invariably 
wrote from right to left, but the Greeks vice ver- 
sa*. This argument, however, does not stand 
the test of inquiry. For it may be inferred, from 
the evidence of many ancient Greek coins, even 
of those that were struck in Greece Proper, that 
the inhabitants of this country were not strangers 
to the Phenician mode of writing. But much 
stress cannot be laid on this argument, on either 
side. For it does not appear, that those engraved 
after the Phenician mode were always the most 
ancient. Those of Aegium, or as others say of 
Aegina, which are accounted the oldest, exhibit 
the inscription from left to right. Could any 
thing decisive be argued from this circumstance, 
it might be concluded that this was in fact the 
most ancient mode of writing among the Greeks; 
and that the other had been introduced by the 
Phenicians, but never generally received. That 
it was not general in any period of the Grecian 
history, may justly be inferred from the language 
of Herodotus. When comparing the manners 
and customs of his countrymen with those of the 
Egyptians, he deems this difference as to the 
mode of writing, worthy of being particularized. 
" The Greeks write their letters, and calculate 
" with counters, drawing the hand from left to 
" right, the Egyptians from right to left : and 
" observing this mode, are wont to say, that they 

* V. Ihre Glossar. Prooem. xxii. 



OF THE GREEKS. 6o 

" themselves do their work on the right hand, 
"but the Greeks on the left*." This seems 
equivalent to saying, that they did their business 
devtrously, but the Greeks aukwardly. 

We learn from Dionysms Halicarnassensis, that 
Tullius, king of Rome, ordered the laws and pub- 
lic institutes to be engraved on a brazen pillar, 
which remained in the temple of Diana during 
the reign of Augustus. It was inscribed, he 
says, " in those Hellenic characters which were 
" used by ancient Greece t." Now, Pliny and 
Tacitus inform us, that there was the greatest 
resemblance between the Greek letters and those 
of ancient Rome t. But how could this be the 
case, if the former were merely the Samaritan, 
or early Phenician, slightly changed ? 

Ovid, who was long an exile at Tomi in Moe- 
sia, has been viewed as strongly attesting the 
affinity of the Greek and Gothic languages. 

Mista sit haec quamvis inter Graiosque Getasque ; 
A male pacatis plus trahit ora Getis. Trist. v. El. 8. 

It must be admitted, however, that in most of 
the passages, in which he speaks of this analog}, 
he seems to ascribe it to the mixture of Greeks 



* Herod. Hist. lib. ii. c. 36. 

iggm. Dion. Hal. lib. iv.p. 230. Ed. Lips. 1691. 
X Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. vii. c. 57. Tacit. Annal. xi. 13, 

e 



66 ON THE ORIGIN 

with Scythians ; as it cannot be denied, that 
there were several Greek colonies on the borders 
of the Euxine. 

So few words, belonging to the ancient lan- 
guage of the Scythian nations, except the names 
of persons, have been handed down to us by 
Greek writers ; and those, which have been trans- 
mitted, are so corrupted, or disguised by the 
Greek mode of pronunciation ; that we can de- 
rive little aid from this quarter. But even here 
are to be traced some vestiges of radical affinity. 

The Phrygians, we have seen, were originally 
Scythians. In their language beda signified wa- 
ter ; as we learn from Clemens Alexandrinus, 
Who quotes Orpheus and Dion Thytes as his au- 
thorities. He subjoins, from Neanthus of Cyzi- 
cus, that the Macedonian priests invoked Bedu 
to be propitious to them and to their children *. 
This seems originally the same with Goth, bada, 
lavare, aqua se abluere ; badu zcatn, aqua abluen- 
do corpori adhibita $ whence our bath, bathe, &c. 
Bek in Phrygian signified bread t. This appears 
to be from the same fountain with Goth, baka, 
in its various forms signifying pinsere ; quasi, what 
is baked. The name of Me<f*i, which the Phry- 
gians gave to the Fates t, strongly resembles 



Orph. ap. Clem. Strom, lib. v. p. 415. Edit. Lugd. 1616. 
f Bochart. Epist. de Aenea, p. 19. 
i Clem. Alex. Stromat. p. 416. 



OF THE GREEKS. 67 

Goth. maer> a virgin, or in the plural meyar, 
quasi, " the virgins." The learned Keysler has 
clearly proved, that the Parcae of the Romans 
are, by the northern Scalds, called the three 
Meyar *. The Spartans, who were Pelasgi, de- 
signed their laws rhetra, a word said to be sy- 
nonymous with oracula, fata ; because Lycurgus 
gave forth his laws as the immediate dictates of 
Heaven t. This term has been traced to }tu 
dico. But perhaps it merits observation, that as 
Germ, rat-en is rendered divinare, also consti- 
tuere, A.Sax. araed is prophetiza, and raede lex, 
pactum, decretum. Germ, recht, Isl. rett, Swed. 
raett 9 Armor, rhaith, also signify lex, jus. 

Pausanias informs us, that in Elis there was an 
altar inscribed to Jupiter, under the designation 
of MoifOLyfroL ; which he explains, " the leader of 
46 the Fates t." It might seem at first view, that 
the latter part of the appellation had some refe- 
rence to the Getae ; especially as the word pot? « 
is so nearly allied to that used by the Scythians. 
But the term is used in the plural, by Apollonius 
Rhodius, to denote the Idaean Mother, and her 
assessors \\.) 



* Antiq. Septentrional, p. 395, 396. 

t Anc. Univ. Hist. vii. 22. Gillies', Hist, of (Greece, chap, iii. 

% Graec. Descr. lib. x. p. 4-14*. 

|| Ol pttvot xoXiu* fiotpiyireu, j$6 tt**gs9g«< 

Mmpg v i2cu'r,s. i Argonaut, lib. i. v. 1125. 

e2 



68 ON THE ORIGIN 



§ 13. Of the Origin of the Religion 
of the Greeks. 

I Plato affirms, that the first who settled in 
Greece acknowledged the same deities with the 
barbarians, and borrowed from them many of the 
terms which they used *. It has been formerly 
admitted, that we have no reason to think that this 
obnoxious designation was restricted to the Scv- 
thians. Yet, if we compare this passage with the 
account given by Herodotus of the introduction 
of the Greek theogony, it will appear probable, 
that they were principally in view. While he 
testifies that the Greeks received the names of 
their deities immediately from the Pelasgi, he 
asserts, that the latter inquired at the oracle of 
Dodona, whether they should adopt the names 
used by the barbarians, and that they received 
an answer in the affirmative t. He may be under- 
stood, indeed, as confining what he says to the 
Egyptians. But, as we have traced the Pela^gi 



nut */K*t K-et) ttr^ot, xec.) abettor.— FL»Xhx et E\>.r t, £>.X*c n 

TCul V7T0 To7? fiXf&agU; 0ix£m?, ITX^X Tl?> ^Ct^Ct^UI &Ar£xTl. Plat. 

in Cratyl. Oper. i. p. 397. 409. 
f Herod, lib. ii. c. 52. 



OF THE GREEKS. 69 

to Thrace, or in other words, shewn that they 
were of Scythian origin ; there is every reason tp 
suppose, that they, as being attached to the re- 
ligion of their ancestors, might use the finesse 
of securing an oracle in order to remove the re- 
pugnance, which their more refined kindred, w r ho 
had by this time assumed the name of Greeks, 
manifested at the idea of being indebted for a 
ritual to those whom they stigmatized as barba- 
rians. 

" The oracle at Dodona," Herodotus further 
informs us, " was at this time accounted by far 
" the most ancient in Greece, and was then in- 
<c deed the only one." That it was founded by 
the Pelasgi, not only appears from the testimony 
of the father of history in the passage referred to, 
but from the language of Homer, who makes 
Achilles address Jupiter by the conjunct titles of 
Dodonaean and Pelasgic *. Hesiod also declares 
it to be the seat of the Pelasgi t. This celebrat- 
ed oracle was in Epirus t ; although some have 
asserted that there was another in Thessalv, in 
which was also a temple consecrated to Jupi- 
ter ||. It is remarkable, that the ancient scho- 
liast should thus explain the language of Homer ; 
" Thou, who art honoured in Dodona, in the 



* Zet) ekvct, Aeo^MxTe, Hsho&cryixi, rqXo6i vctiav, Iliad. ?r. 233. 

•f" Aw^vjjv Qviyov rg neXctryw efyotvov v&v. 

% V. Cellar. Geogr. i. 882. 

|| Fragment. Steph. Byzant. p. 3, 4. 

e 3 



70 ON THE ORIGIN 

" domain of the Hyperboreans *." This clearly 
evinces his conviction, that the Pelasgi were 
Scythians. He adds concerning Deucalion, who 
was universally acknowledged to befa Scythian, 
that he here predicted the coming deluge from 
an oak. Ephorus expressly says, that the oracle 
of Dodona " was founded by the Pelasgi, who 
" are accounted the most ancient of those who 
" bore rule throughout Greece t." Strabo adds, 
that those who dwelt about the temple of Dodo- 
na, were barbarians t. I have already observed, 
that the name of Javan, or Ion, appears to have 
been transmitted to the Ionians, and that of his 
son Elisha to the Aeolians. It also seems high- 
ly probable that Dodanim, another of the sons 
of Javan, was the immediate ancestor of those 
who settled in a very early period at Dodona. 

As the worship of Samothrace had in like man- 
ner the highest claims to antiquity ; we are assur- 
ed that it was taught to the inhabitants of that 
island by the same people. " These Pelasgi," says 
Herodotus, u who afterwards lived together with 
" the Athenians, formerly inhabited Samothrace •> 



* 'E» %*(H* rat 'YTt^Zogivv, t? A*3«r», rtuuuin. 
f "Eft 3t, iif $A<w EQ^tS, TllXsuryuv i$£vpeC tl Ss niXetoyt t£» 
Titf Til* EAA*J* ivreirgvG-tc>Ti)f, ct£%xi6TetT0i Myc*TXU Ap. Strab. 

lib. vii. p. 327. 

&x**$u o O/wpi, &c. Ibid. p. 328. 



OF THE GREEKS. 71 

* and from them the Samothracians received the 
" orgies" of the Cabiri*. 

Delos was not less celebrated for the worship 
of Apollo. Pelasgia, it is said, was one of its an- 
cient namest. From the great respect which the 
Hyperboreans shewed for this island, it is highly 
probable that the rites observed here were known 
to them as originally Scythian. They annually 
sent their offerings, or tf sacred things," bound up 
in wheat-straw. These passed from them to the 
Scythae, who transmitted them by means of their 
neighbours to the Adriatic; being brought thence 
towards the south, the inhabitants of Dodona were 
the first Greeks who received them; from them 
they passed to the gulf of Melis, were transmitted 
through Euboea, and reached Carystus. The 
Carystians carried them to Tenos, and the Teni- 
ans to Delos. 

In former times, the Hyperboreans in different 
instances employed, as the bearers of their sacred 
things, two virgins, attended by several males 
of distinction, to secure protection to them by 
the way. But as their messengers did not re- 
turn from Greece, they at length adopted the 
other mode of conveyance. We are informed, not 
only that Argis and Opis, two of these virgins, 
died at Delos, and after death received divine 
honours ; but that a certain Lycian, named Olen, 
composed a hymn which was sung in coramemo- 

* Hist. lib. ii. c. 51. f An c - Un. Hist. viii. 333. 

e4 



72 ON THE ORIGIN 

ration of them, and that he wrote other ancient 
hymns which were used in the worship of Delos*. 
Now, the Lycians, according to Strabo, were 
Carians, and therefore originally Scythians. 

It has been observed, that " the virgins, who 
" were sent at first to Delos, were of the royal 
c< and sacerdotal line ; as Callimachus calls them 
" the daughters of Boreast". 

The testimony of Herodotus agrees in substance 
with that of Boeo, a Delphian lady. She relates in 
one of her hymns, that other strangers besides Olen, 
who came " from the Hyperboreans, erected an 
" oracle to the God" Apollo ; and that Olen was 
" the first who prophesied'' here, and that " he first 
" taught the use of hexameter verse." Pausanias, 
after recording the testimony of Boeo, subjoins; 
" Having enumerated other Hyperboreans, in the 
" end of her hymn she particularly mentions 
" Olen; — ' But Olen first sung the oracles of 
* Apollo, and of the ancients, first taught to mo- 
c dulate the song.' — It is related, that Apollo 
" sent to the Hyperboreans another little house 
" made by bees of wax and pinions V 1 Although 

* Herod, lib. iv. 33, 34, 35. f Banier's MjthoLB.vii. c. 13. 

£ Beta h ixt^u^U yvvvi Tromrctrct vpvof AiX<po7g, gpjj x.eiTx<rx.ivet<rct<rd*t 
Tt pxiritov rm few rag uQtxo^vttg i\ 'Yireg&ogiav rSg n aXXag xmi 
f2AJjy«i* txtov ol xcti p<tvnvcrtx<rQui v^rev y xai ei<r»u tt^uxm t« i\%- 
(»6Tg«y. TiXohxt $i * Bay tohcou 

EvGci, rot iV{AVY}<ro* Xi'^H 101 hcnXic-uyjo 
Tlatltzg 'f-TTi^e^av Uotyotcrog xcu dtog 'Ay:. 
E7rct£iQ{*is<rct Ti Ksti ciXXag rav '^xi^o^im, It} tsA'vtJj t» I unit t»> 

'£!>.?*« trip*™. Sec. Lib. x. Phocic. p. S09, 810. 



OF THE GREEKS. 73 

Pausanias elsewhere says, that Olen was a Lycian*, 
here he makes him a Hyperborean or Scythian. 
The principal difference between the narrative of 
Herodotus and Pausanias is, that the latter trans- 
fers to Delphi what the former asserts in relation 
to Delos. This shews, that there was a general 
persuasion of the interest which the Hyperboreans 
had in the religion of the Greeks. For thus the 
foundation of Dodona, of Delos, and even of Del- 
phi, the three most celebrated places of worship 
in Greece, is ascribed to them. 

The use of wheat-straw, or as other writers ex- 
press it, of handfuls of ears of corn, in binding 
up the offerings, is a singular circumstance. 
Shall we view, as a remnant of this ancient 
Scythian custom, the practice which is not con- 
fined to Britain, but has prevailed among other 
northern nations, of dressing up the last handful 
of com, cut down in harvest, in the form of a fe- 
male, which in Scotland has received the various 
names of Maiden, Kirn, Rapegyrne, and of Kern- 
Baby in the north of England t ? A peculiar use 
of wheat-straw, in relation to religion, seems to 
have been common to the Scythian nations. For 
Herodotus, when relating the Hyperborean cus- 
tom referred to above, adds ; " I have observed 



r<«. &c. Lib. ix. Boeotic. p. 762. 

t V. Etymol. Diet, of the Scottish Language, vo. Kirn, 
Maiden, and Rapegyrne. 



74 ON THE ORIGIN 

" something similar to these sacred rites, which 
" is done by the Thracian and Paeonian * women, 
ff who never celebrate the worship of Diana with- 
" out using wheat-straw. Of this mode of cele- 
'* bration I have myself been an eye-witness t." 

As not only Diana, but Ceres, appears, accord- 
ing to heathen emblems, dressed with ears of corn, 
both these deities having, in several instances, 
common attributes, as both representing the 
earth ; and as there is a strife among the reapers 
in regard to the honour of winning or carrying off 
the Mm; might we suppose that this custom con- 
tains a traditionary allusion to the fable, so gene- 
rally diffused, of the rape of Proserpine I The 
name of her mother, Ceres, has been traced, in 
common with the word corn, by some writers to 
Goth. kaer~a, seligere. Both, however, might 
seem to have more analogy to kar-a colligere, cor- 
radere, as referring to the act of gathering toge- 
ther. Alem. chern signifies wheat. ) 



§ 14. Of those called Hyperboreans. 

( Before entering on a more particular compari- 
son of the religion of Greece with that of Scythia, 



* The Paeonians are generally understood to be the same 
people who, in latter ages, inhabited Pannonia y and who were 
undoubtedly Scythians. 

f Lib. iv. c. 33. 



OF THE GREEKS. 75 

it may be necessary to observe, that the term 
Hyperborean is used by Greek writers very inde- 
finitely. There certainly never was a writer who 
manifested greater learning and ingenuity than 
Rudbeck has done, in giving the air of versimili- 
tude to mere fancy. It is well known, that he 
has strained every nerve to shew that the Atlan- 
tis 9 or Hyperborean country, of the ancients was 
Scandinavia. Besides the influence of strong na- 
tionality, he has been in part led to embrace this 
notion from the account given by Diodorus Si- 
culus, and other Greek writers, of the situation 
of this region. Diodorus has assigned to the 
Hyperboreans an island " in the ocean opposite 
*' to Gaul*." Others have fixed them very near 
the northern ocean. Apollonius Rhodius, how- 
ever, places u the almost infinite number of the 
u Hyperborean people" between the desolate is- 
land Thynis on the coast of Bithynia, and Lyciat. 
He thus determines their station to be in Asia Mi- 
nor, as including perhaps, in the general designa- 
tion, the Mariandyni, Phrygians, Lydians, and 
Carians. Posidonius carries them to " the Alps 
*' of Italy." " The Hyperboreans," according 
to Mnaseas, " are now called Delphians t." This 

* Biblioth. lib. ii. c. 47. 

-j- ToTtri 2g A»jt£s viog ectt£%oftiV6<; Avx,lq0sv 9 
TjjA' in cc.7rttgo)>ct ^wov vTrif&ogiav av$pa7rav 
y Z%i<p<Ln. . -Argonautic. II. 676. 

J Mvctvlxq $6 <pn<ri vvv ritg 'XTTi^o^iitg bihtyisg XiyttrSxt, 

Schol. in Apollon. loc. cit. 



76 ON THE ORIGIN 

testimony may account for the influence which, 
as we have seen, they had at Delphi. 

The judicious Strabo acknowledges the uncer- 
tainty of all the accounts given of the Scythians 
by the Greeks ; distinguishing these, however, 
into two classes. " The ancient Greek writers," 
he says, " design all the northern nations Scy- 
iC thae, and Celto-Scythae. But the earliest 
" writers among them observed the following 
" mode of division : Those, who dwelt beyond 
" the Euxine, the Danube, and the Adriatic, they 
" denominated Hyperboreans, Sauromatae, and 
" Arimaspi ; giving the names of Sacae and 
" Massagetae to such as lived beyond the Hyr- 
u canian sea. But they could give no accu- 
" rate account of the latter, though Cyrus made 
" war on the Massagetae ; nor concerning the 
" former did any one exactly relate the truth *." 

Herodotus places them beyond, or to the north 
of, the Issedones ; and speaks of this people as 
their neigbours t. It has been said, that this 
brings them into Russia and Siberia t. But He- 
rodotus had very indistinct apprehensions of the 
northern parts of Europe and Asia, and certainly 
carries the Hyperboreans a great deal too far 
east ; so that one part of his account cannot be 
reconciled with another. For if their situation 



* Geogr. lib. xi. p. 507. f Hi5t - lib - iv - 13. 32. 

f Kennel's Geogr. p. 151. 



OF THE GREEKS. 77 

was such as he describes, there could be no ne- 
cessity for approaching the Adriatic in transmit- 
ting their offerings from this country to Delos. 
From the account of their progress, it is evident 
that they passed southward from the north, or 
rather from the north-west. Pausanias gives the 
same loose account of their situation. " The 
" first," he says, " who wrote that the Hyperbo- 
<c reans were a nation beyond the north-wind, 
" was Olen the Lycian, in a hymn which he com- 
<c posed on Achaeia, who came to Delos from 
* 6 these Hyperboreans *." Virgil t, Pliny t, and 
Pomponius Mela§, assign them a residence be- 
yond the Riphaean mountains. Stephanus By- 
zantinus calls Riphaea " a mountain of the Hy- 
" perboreans." 

Theophanes, ad An. 431, applies the term Hy- 
perborean to the places beyond the Danube, " pos- 
'* sessed by the Goths and many other great na- 
" tionsll." According to Clemens Alexandrinus, 
Hellanicus, a Greek historian who was born be- 
fore Herodotus, u writes that the Hyperboreans 
" lived beyond the Riphaean mountains, and 
" taught themselves righteousness, not feeding 
" on flesh, but on fruits^]". 1 ' In another place 

* Eliac. p. 392. f Georgic. iii. 381. 

% Hist. Natural, c. xii. § Lib. iii. C. 5. 

| Hcrxv ol ron TorGoi kcu ISvjj ttoX^oc, n xeti ftiyira Tr'igecv t£ A#vfc- 

£/* Iv to?s v7ri£p6£{ois TOTToi; KocTWKKTfdvx, Ap. Ihre Gloss. Prooem. 
ix. 

f Stromat. p. 223, 224, 



ON THE ORIGIN 



he says, that the poets speak of " the Hyperborean 
" and Arimaspian cities" as "the republics of the 
just.*" Thus, there can be no doubt that the 
name Hyperborean regarded the Scythians. 

Ptolemy makes the Hyperborean mountains 
extend from the sixty-eighth degree of longitude 
eastward to the ninety fourth, forming a line be- 
tween the Palus Maeotis and the Caspian sea. 
This brings them nearer the line marked out in 
the journey described by Herodotus. There is no 
certain evidence, indeed, that the Hyperborei 
were a distinct nation. This seems rather to 
have been a term formed by the Greeks in an 
early age, as a covert to their own ignorance, 
characterising those Scythians who came from a 
region too far north for them to be acquainted 
with it. 

Rudbeck contends that the ancients totally 
misunderstood the sense of the term Hyperborean, 
which they explained as signifying " above the 
4< north," or " beyond the influence of the north- 
u wind." He is at pains to shew that it was de- 
scriptive of the rank of the persons ; who, he says, 
were denominated ofwerbome or oferborne, from 
their high birth, as being the descendants of Bo- 
reas, i. e. Bore or Bure, an ancient king of the 
Swedes t. The learned Ezekiel Spanheim ac- 



* Stromat. p. 396. f Atlantic. I. p. 219. 265. 420. 



OF THE GREEKS. 79 

knowledges that Rudbeck handles this argument 
with great acumen *. 

It cannot be denied, that the account given of 
the messengers from the Hyperboreans to Delos 
is favourable to this idea. Callimachus mentions 
three virgins, Oupis, Loxo, and the blessed He- 
caerge, whom he calls " the daughters of Boreas;" 
adding, that the males, who accompanied them, 
were " the most noble of the youths t." 

The fate of fanciful writers resembles that of 
mere fabulists. Credit is withheld from them, 
even when they are entitled to it. Rudbeck, in 
consequence of attempting too much, has by no 
means received that meed of praise to which he 
has an undoubted right. Whatever maybe thought 
of his claim of affinity to the Atlantidae, any one, 
who will take the trouble to compare the account 
given by Herodotus of the progress of u the sac- 
" red things" to Delos, will cease to wonder that 
a Swede should have viewed Scandinavia as the 
country of the Hyperboreans. In what I have to 
subjoin, on the comparison of the Grecian my- 
thology with that of the Scythian, I shall have 
occasion frequently to refer to this singular writer. 
If all the weight be not given to his etymological 



* Observ. in Callimach. p. 489. 

OvTTtg TS, A»|» T6, j£ iVXtM EKXi^yY}, 

QvyeiTS£i$ Bo^ixo, r^ et^s-ms ot tot ci^iroi 

H'ttiw •■ - Hymn, in Delum, v. 2§i, &' . 



80 ON THE ORIGIN 

deductions, which they might have been thought 
to merit, had his claims been more moderate ; 
his ingenious conjectures may at least amuse some 
readers, who either have not the patience to tra- 
vel through his labyrinth of learning, or have no 
opportunity of looking into his work.j 



§ 15. Of Saturn, Janus, Titaea, and Rhea. 

( It is w T ell known, that the Greeks were princi- 
pally indebted for their theogony and mythology 
to their poets* Orpheus and Thamyris were un- 
doubtedly Thracians, and therefore Scythians *. 
The same origin has been ascribed to some of the 
rest of their early poetical writers. It is a re- 
markable acknowledgment, which is made by 
Herodotus, that, " according to tradition, the vir- 
" gins Argis and Opis," mentioned above, when 
they came from the Hyperboreans to Delos, 
" arrived with the Gods themselves t." Plato 
relates that " Opis and Hecaergns brought with 
" them certain brazen tablets to Delos from the 
" Hyperborean mountains," containing the doc- 
trines of religion t. These doctrines, as we learn 

* V. Pausan. Graec. Descr. lib. iv. c. 33. p. 362. 

Xiywri. Hist. lib. iv. c. 35. 

X The same person who is called Argis by Herodotus, is de- 
nominated Hecaerge by Pausanias, p. 10±. 392., an4 Hecaer- 
gus by Plato. 



OF THE GREEKS. 81 

from the same intelligent writer, especially re- 
garded a future state of retribution ; giving an 
account of the blessedness of the just, and of the 
misery of the wicked. Mention is here made of 
the domains of Pluto, of the rivers Acheron and 
Cocytus, of Minos and Rhadamanthus, of the 
Furies, of Erebus, Chaos, and Tartarus, of Tan- 
talus and Sisyphus, &c. This relation is given 
by Socrates, on the information received from 
Gobryas, one of the Persian Magi, whose grand- 
father, of the same name, being sent by Xerxes, 
during his memorable expedition into Greece, 
to protect the island of Delos, learned these things 
from the Hyperborean tablets. We thus discern 
the Scythian origin of the most valuable part of the 
Greek mythology. The athanaiizing Getae, men- 
tioned by Herodotus, undoubtedly held the same 
doctrines, and were most probably a branch from 
the same stock. 

As Ops or Opts was the spouse of Saturn, it is 
not improbable that the name originated from 
this Hyperborean virgin. We are assured by 
Macrobius, that " the Egyptians received neither 
" Saturn nor Serapis into their temples, till after 
Cl the time of Alexander the " Great t." How 



c Ex«igyo 5 . Dial. Axioch. Oper. III. 371. 

-j- Saturni cultu, quern deorum principem dicitis, ritus videtur 
ab Aegyptiorum religiossima gente, in arcana templorum, usque 



82 ON THE ORIGIN 

much soever, therefore, the Greeks have been 
indebted to the Egyptians for their worship, it 
would seem that they borrowed the rites.of Saturn 
from another quarter. The Greeks themselves 
did not erect altars to Saturn and Ops, or cele- 
brate their feasts, till the time of Cecrops *. 

The Saxons, a nation of Scythic origin, worship- 
ped Saturn under the name ofSeater. He was re- 
presented as an old man holding a wheel in his left 
hand, and in his right a pail or basket containing 
flowers and fruits f . The same day of the week 
was consecrated to him, which bore his name ac- 
cording to the Roman calendar. In the Anglo- 
Saxon version, Matt. xvi. 1., it is called Saeternes- 
daeg, in Belg. Safer -dag. This deity was by the 
ancient Saxons also called Crodo t, Gh*odo II, or 
Groderus § . This name has been traced to Goth. 
groda fructus, groed-a, messis, from gro germi- 
nare. He appears on the Greek and Roman 
coins as an old man, with a scythe behind him -> 



ad Alexandri Macedonis occasum defuisse. Saturnal. lib. i. c. 7. 
Apollodorus makes Apis of the Greeks the same with the Egyp- 
tian Serapis ; who, he says, was the daughter of Phoroneu^ 
and deified after her death. Biblioth. lib. i. c. 7. ii. c. 1. Pno- 
roneus was the son of Inachus. 

* Rudbeck. Atlantic. I. 697. 

f Verstegan's Restitution, p. 77, 78. Edit. 1628. 

% Wormii Fast. Dan. p. 57. Monument, p. 16. 

lj El. Sched. de Dis German, p. 493. 

§ Voss. de Idolol. lib. ii. c. 33. 



OF THE GREEKS. $3 

because he was supposed to superintend agricul- 
ture. He is sometimes represented with his feet 
chained, says Apollodorus, as intimating that the 
seeds of the earth, over which he presided, are 
bound by the frost, and as it were inanimate, till 
the time of his festival, when they begin to sprout 
forth *. 

The name of Saturn has been deduced from 
the Phrygian word seldom, signifying strong or 
potent t. If so, it may be viewed as originally 
Scythian. But it is an observation of Wachter, 
which deserves peculiar attention, that if the 
names of the gods be compared with their images 
and emblems, it will be found that the Scythian 
name exactly corresponds to the image or em- 
blem, and the emblem to the name, the one be- 
ing an explanation of the other t. Accordingly, 
the scythe, or in its place the reaping-hook, given 
to Saturn, and the handful of ears at his feetll, 
evidently refer to the cultivation of the soil, which 
men were supposed to be taught by this deity. 
These symbols exactly correspond to the apparent 
meaning of the name in the Gothic languages. 
For A.Sax. saedere, Goth, sadur, signify a sower, 
from saed-a, also saa, to sow, whence saed seed. A 
similar idea had occurred to Varro ; for he assigns 



* Apollodor. Fragment, p. 403. V. Banier's Mythol. ii. 560, 
t Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. 43, Note G. % Vo. HerkuL 

H Macrob. Saturn, lib. i. c. 7. 



/a 



84 ON THE ORIGIN 

a similar origin to the Lat. name *. Analogous to 
this is Siton, one of the Phenician names of Sa- 
turn, signifying in Gr. frumentum, triticum, also 
panis t. He is also called Arotrius, i. e. arator, 
the ploughman t. 

Rudbeck, having observed that Philo applies 
the name of Siton, mentioned by Sanchoniatho, 
to Dagon, remarks that in the Edda Dag-er is 
one of the names given to the sun, as being the 
father of the day> which this word signifies ||. 
Saturn is the Jolfader of the northern nations ; 
and is viewed as taking this name from kiul a 
wheel, which he carries as his symbol, denoting 
that he is the father of the revolutions of the year. 
This symbol is less remote from that of the scythe, 
than might seem at first instance ; for, in the feast 
of Jol or Yule, all the Gothic nations celebrated 
the return of the sun, as the presage of renewed 
vegetation. 

Rudbeck affirms that Bore> a name given to 
this deity by the ancient Goths, had, when used 
in all its latitude, the same meaning with Sadur ; 
as it denotes one who generates §. He refers 
to Diodorus Siculus, who says indeed, that " the 
" sons of Boreas were called Boreades, who 
" by hereditary succession held the government 
ii and had the charge of sacred things/' He 

* Ab satu est dictus Saturnus. Varr. de Ling. Lat. lib. iv. 
f Cumber!. Sanchon. p. 29. J Philo > ibid « P- 326. 

j| Atlantic. II. p. 150. § Ibid. I. p. 691. 



OF THE GREEKS. 85 

does not refer however, to the worship of Saturn, 
but to that of Apollo *. 

It must be admitted, that Herodotus gives a 
tradition of the Greeks, which seems rather to 
favour the hypothesis of Rudbeck, as to the deifi- 
cation of Bore. " It is related," he says, in re- 
ference to the invasion under Xerxes, " that the 
* Athenians invoked Boreas, — who, according to 
" the Grecian narrative, had in marriage Ori- 
" thyia, the daughter of Erectheus king of 
M Athens," he. t. Vossius supposes that this 
worship was mixed, as not only regarding the* 
north wind, but some illustrious man, who had 
come from the northern regions, and carried off 
Orithyiat. He is said to have been king of 
Thrace II . Pausanias, though he does not ex- 
pressly say that this was he w 7 ho carried off Ori- 
thyia, in another place, when he mentions Phi- 
neus king of Thrace, associates with him the sons 
of Boreas § . 

It may be added, that the Chronicon Alex- 
andrinum mentions the Borades as a Scythian na- 
tion, in the neighbourhood of the Goths; and that 
Gregory Thaumaturgus, in his canonical epistle, 
conjoins the Boradi with the Gothi. Bochart 
reasonably conjectures, that Borades, and Bora- 
di, are used for Boreades %. 



* Biblioth. lib. ii. c. 47. f Hist. lib. vii. c. 189. 

X De Idolol. lib. iii. c. 1. |j Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. 177. 

§ Graec. Descr. p. 422. f Phaleg, lib. iii. c. 11. p. 200. 

/3 



86 ON THE ORIGIN 

Saturn was by the Greeks and Romans said to 
be the son of Uranus. He was accounted the 
first god of the Atlantidae. Pezron derives the 
name Uranus from Celt, ur vir, and en coehim ; 
Rudbeck from Goth, our coelum, and ana rex, 
quasi " king of Heaven*." In the theogony of 
Sanchoniatho, the wife of Uranus was Ge t. 
This is undoubtedly the Earth, r>7 being the 
name for it in Greek. It is remarkable, that, in 
the Scandinavian mythology, Gio is the wife of 
Thor ; and that this term, as well as Teut. gou, 
signifies regio, terra t. Titan is by Greek wri- 
ters called the brother of Saturn. Vossius deems 
him the same with Theuth ||. Moes.G. thiuda?is 9 
and Isl. thiodan, signify rex, curator populi ; 
from thiod populus, and ans> or ana rex, quasi po- 
puli vel terrae rex §. Thiod is explained by 
Gudmund Andreae, Regnum Hellesponticum, 
Lex. p. 265. 

It has been supposed, with great verisimili- 
tude, that in the pagan history of Saturn, and 
of his sons, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, there 
is an obvious reference to that of Noah aud his 
three sons, by whom the earth was peopled a- 
new ; and that the fable, of Saturn devouring all 
his children, originated from an indistinct or dis- 
guised tradition of that act of Noah, by which 

* Atlantic. II. 57. f Cumberland's Sanchon. p. 29. 292. 

J V. Etymol. Diet. Scott. Lang. vo. gow, s. 2. 

|j De Idolol. lib. i. c. 37. f Rudb. Atlantic. II.' 57, 



OF THE GREEKS. 87 

" he condemned the world ;" as in consequence 
■of the rejection of his warnings, all its inhabi- 
tants, except those who were with him in the 
ark, were swallowed up by the deluge. Nor is 
it less probable, that the strange tradition, that 
Saturn was emasculated by his sons, had its ori- 
gin from the impiety of Ham, in revealing and 
ridiculing the shame of his father. It is worthy 
of remark, that the etymon given of the name 
Saturn, by some of the ancients, seems to refer 
to this history * ; although it has been under- 
stood by Rudbeck as denoting his paternity in 
regard to the human race. Plutarch affirms, that 
" there is a certain island, distant five days sail 
" from Britain towards the west, in which the 
" barbarians fable that Saturn was imprisoned by 
M Jupiter, and that the sea is called the Cronian 
" or Saturniant. Rudbeck mentions a circum- 
stance which does not appear in the account 
given by Plutarch, that Saturn was confined here 
in his emasculated state. He also calls this a 
certain island belonging to Sueonia ; adding, 
that the Swedes have a similar tradition with res- 
pect to Gilboreus, who is said to be bound in 



* " Our fathers," says Macrobius, " called him Saturn, 
te irxpoi rw rufav t quae membrum virile declarat.'* Saturnal. 
lib. i. c. 8. Goth, sater is synonymous with the Greek term. 

f De Facie Lunae, Oper. II. p. 94-1. Edit. Paris. 1624. V. 
also his work, De Oracujorum Defectu, p. 420., where he says 
that Briareus is the keeper of Saturn. 



88 ON THE ORIGIN 

Visingsonia. The name he views as applicable 
to Saturn ; gil, from Goth, giaell-a castrare, be- 
ing prefixed to the name Bure or Boreas *. 

I have elsewhere given a particular account of 
the festival observed by all the northern nations 
in honour of their Saturn, and compared it with 
the Cronia of the Greeks, and the Saturnalia of 
the Romans. That I may not unnecessarily ex- 
tend this Dissertation, I must take the liberty 
of referring the reader to the work in which it 
appears t. Rudbeck has remarked a singular 
coincidence. During the Saturnalia of the Ro- 
mans, it was deemed unlawful to engage in war ; 
and no individual might exact the penalty due 
by one who had done him injury fc This is 
strictly analogous to an ordinance found in the 
laws of Helsingia, a province of Sweden. Dur- 
ing the celebration of Yule, it is not permitted 
to any one to prosecute his adversary ||. It is 
well known, that among the Romans, equality 
was permitted between masters and servants dur- 
ing this festival, in commemoration of the felicity 
of the Saturnian reign. Rudbeck affirms, that 
the Greeks still had a repugnance to the fami- 
liarity granted to servants at this season. Could 
we credit his assertion, this circumstance might 



* V. Atlantic. I. p. 701, 702. f v - Etymol, Diet. vo. yule, 

% Macrob. lib. i. c. 10. 

jl Adversario suo diem dicere. Atlantic. I. p. 697. 



OF THE GREEKS. 89 

be viewed as a proof, that they had borrowed 
their Cronia from some other nation. But I 
have not found the passage in Macrobius to 
which Rudbeck refers. After receiving the Sa- 
turnalia, they dated the beginning of the year 
from the middle of winter ; whereas it formerly 
commenced in summer # . 

~ - The fabulous history of Saturn is closely con- 
nected with that of Janus, the god of the year, 
who presided over the gates of heaven ; and who, 
by the Romans, was represented with two faces, 
as at once looking back to the past, and forward 
to the coming, year. Rudbeck informs us, that 
in an old parchment calendar, of Scandinavian 
workmanship, there is a figure of a man with two 
faces, exactly corresponding to the representa- 
tion of Janus on Roman coins. To each of his 
mouths he holds a horn, in token of the univer- 
sal rejoicing at Yule t. Some view these as 
drinking horns, symbolical of a common mode of 
expressing joy at this season. But one circum- 
stance seems to oppose the conjecture. The 
narrow part of the horn is applied to the mouth. 



* Simplic. in Aristot. ap. Atlantic. I. p. 697. Potter gives 
a different account of this. " The ancient Athenian year," 
he says, " began after the winter solstice ; the more modern 
" Athenians computed their years from the first new moon 
" after the summer solstice.'' Antiq. of Greece, I. 461. 

•f Atlantic. II. p. 175. 



90 ON THE ORIGIN 

The symbol may, therefore, regard the blowing 
of horns, as a similar token of hilarity : for, in 
either case, it has undoubtedly the same mean- 
ing. 

The Romans gave the name of Januarius to 
the first month. The first part of the word they 
deduced from Janus , but could give no account 
of the origin of the second. Goth, are, however, 
signifies a year ; and, in this language, the full 
name of the month is Jonurs-are, which some 
view as having been changed by the Romans into 
Januarius. For Janus is said to be the Jon of 
the Scandinavians, one of the names of Jupiter, 
which is given to the sun, as signifying that he 
is the father of the year, and of heaven and 
earth. The sun was worshipped by the Trojans 
under the name of Jona, as appears from one of 
Gruter's Inscriptions *. 

Saturn, we are told, came as a stranger from 
the Atlantidae to Italy; and was hospitably re- 
ceived by Janus, who at this time reigned there*. 
This may perhaps intimate, that the Romans, in- 
structed as the Greeks had been, by some Scy- 
thian emigrants, adopted the mode of reckoning 
the beginning of the year from the winter sol- 
stice, and the Scythian rites and customs con- 
nected with it. Some writers asserted, accord- 



* V. Atlantic. II. p. H9, 150. 

f Plutarch. Quaest. Roman. Oper. II. p. 274?. 27 



OF TKE GREEKS, 91 

ing to Macrobius, that the Saturnalia were in- 
troduced into Dodona by the Pelasgi *. 

The Roman mode of dividing the month, 
seems to have been introduced at the same time. 
This, it has been said, was Etruscan ; but we 
know the intimate connexion between the Tus- 
cans and the Scythian Pelasgi. The first day, de- 
nominated the calends, received its name a calando 
vel vocando ; as a priest called out to the people 
that it was new moon. To the fifth day was 
given the designation of the nones ; as this was 
nine days from the ides, the time being reckon- 
ed inclusively. But, as Gr. xaxtw signifies to call, 
Goth. kalUa has the same meaning. If the rea- 
son is rightly given for the name of the nones, 
it is evidently allied to Moes.G. niun, novem. 
The origin of the term ides, however, is not 
given in a satisfactory manner. It is said to be 
from an obsolete Etruscan verb, iduare, to di- 
vide, because the ides divided the month. Others 
deduce it from itis, a word in the same language, 
used to denote that day. The very learned Ve- 
relius derives it from Goth, ida, negotium dili- 
genter urgere, idia diligentia; whence our old 
Scottish adjective ident, diligent, industrious. 
At this time the Romans gathered in the money 
which had been lent out. 

Titaea, the mother of Saturn, was the wife of 
* Saturnal, lib. i. c. 7* 



92 ON THE ORIGIN 

Uranus. After her apotheosis, she received the 
name of Ge or Earth. Their children derived, 
from their mother, the common name of Titans*, 
She was also called Titia t. This designation 
has by some been deduced from Phenician tit, sig- 
nifying clayt. Diodorus Siculus acknowledges 
the Titans to be Atlantides ; and in the passage 
referred to, professes to give " their mythology 
" concerning the origin of the gods, which," he 
says, " does not differ much from the fables of 
<£ the Greeks ||." Rudbeck, therefore, compares 
the name Titaea to Goth, titte mamma ; remark- 
ing the near affinity between this term and Gr. 
rubs id., as well as tM nutrix, and rdkua nutrio. 
He at the same time seems to view Titaea as in 
Goth. Ty-deja ; shewing that it may be either 
from dij mammam sugere, or dij terra pinguis. 
He renders Deja Dea -, and Ti-deia, Terra Dea, 
sive Regina §. 

Rhea, the daughter of Uranus and Titaea, was 
the wife of Saturn. She was also called Ops, Cy- 
bele, Tellus. Rudbeck says, that from Frea of 
the Goths the Greeks made Rhea, i.ut the for- 
mer is a name which properly belongs to Venus. 
A conjecture has already been offered, that there 



* Diod. Sicul. lib. iii. c. 57. Cumberl. Sanchon. p. 29. 
f Apollon. Argonaut, lib. i. p. 1126. 
% Cumberl. Orig. p. 308, 309. |j Diod. ibid. c. 56. 

§ Atlantic. II. p. 58, 59. 



OF THE GKEEKS. 93 

might be an analogy between the history of Rhea 
and that of the Hyperborean Opis. Shall we 
suppose that Apia, the name originally given to 
Peloponnesus, had any affinity to Ops, or Opis * ? 
Of one thing we are assured by Herodotus, that 
the Earth, considered as a goddess, was by the 
Scythians called Apia t. This might be the rea- 
son of the name given by the Pelasgi to Pelo- 
ponnesus, as by way of distinction signifying the 
earth, or land, being preferred to their former 
settlements. According to Rudbeck, the name 
Cybele is qu. sifhelle, from Goth. sif, signify- 
ing the modest goddess, and hell, hella, mons, 
i. e. " the goddess of the mountains." It is un- 
questionable, that Sif is the name given in the 
Edda to the spouse of Thor. For Rhea or the 
Earth, although with the Greeks and Latins the 
wife of Saturn, was by the Scythians conjoined 
to Jupiter J. Sif is thus defined by Gudmund 
Andreae ; Poetice Tellus, Uxor Jovis in Edda ; 
and by Verelius, as it occurs in the Trojomanna 
Saga, Juno, in Swed. Jona, Sief. Resenius ren- 
ders it by the £at. term Sibylla. ) 



* See above, p. 19, 20. 

f 'Ovf ofttifyrcn 2g Sxvtosv,— 108 Am'** Hist. lib. iv. c. 59, 

± Herod, loc. citat. 



94 OK THE ORIGIN 



§16. Of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Vesta, 
and Ceres. 



f The attributes of Jupiter, or Jove, in the 
Greek and Roman mythology, seem to belong 
to Thor among the Scandinavians. He is the 
Jof-ur of the Edda ; and is carried in a chariot 
drawn by two goats. Hesiod and Homer in like 
manner call him cdfaJQ*;, from et/5, aiyoc, caper, 
and oxw veho, or 6^o; vehiculum ; or as others 
say, because Jupiter in his infancy was suckled 
by a she-goat. The same day of the week, de- 
dicated by the Romans to Jupiter, is appropriat- 
ed to Thor ; hence called by the northern nations 
Thursday. Jupiter was represented as sitting on 
an ivory throne, holding a sceptre in his left 
hand ; the Scandinavian Jqf-ur as sitting on a 
bed of state, with a sceptre in his right *. The 
name of Jupiter, or Jopiter, as appears from Ru- 
nic monuments, was given to some ancient Scan* 
dinavian kings t. 

Herodotus informs us, that, " in the Scythian 
" language, Jupiter was called Papaeus, and 

most properly, according to his apprehen- 



cc 



* Verstegan's Restitut. p. 74. f Cipp. Runic, p. 1 76. 



OF THE GREEKS. 95 

" sion *." Rudbeck observes, that the origin of 
this name is found in Goth, pappa lactare, lac 
sngere ; whence pappar mammae, and pap pul- 
mentum infantibus praeberi solitum f . It is not 
improbable, that there is an affinity between this 
designation of " the father of gods and men," 
and Gr. -tioltttt^^ pater. Germ, pappa^ has the 
same signification. The last mentioned wri- 
ter says, that Thor, or Jupiter, was known in 
Crete under the name of As-Tkort. Were the 
assertion well-founded, we would be under a ne- 
cessity of viewing this personage as the same 
with Asa-Tkor, of whom it is said in the Edda ; 
" The most illustrious among them [the gods] is 
" Thor. He is called Asa-Thor, or the Lord 
cc Thor. — He is the strongest and bravest of gods 
" and men ||." But Rudbeck, it would seerri, 
founds his assertion merely on the name of As- 
terius, the first who reigned in Crete after the 
Arrival of the Curetes ; by some supposed to be 
the Saturn, by others the Jupiter, of that Island §. 
The Thor of the Scythians has been generally 
viewed as the Taranis mentioned by the Latins. 

Et Taranis Scythieae non mitior ara Dianae. 

Lucan. lib. i. 



* ZkvUit} — Zivg £s 0^01 curat, xsctx yvaftw yi r*v Iftlsv xxteifCms 
Tlx7ru7og. Hist. lib. iv. c. 59. 

f Atlantic. II. p. 401. J Atlantic. I. p. 712. 

j| Mallet's Northern Antiq. Edda, Fable xi. p. 65. 
$ V. Anc. Univ. Hist. viii. 220. 225, 



96 ON THE ORIGIN 

Herodotus relates, that according to the ac- 
counts given by the Scythians, their nation had 
its origin from Targitaus, the son of ejAipiter and 
of the river Borysthenes, who reigned about a 
thousand years before the invasion of their coun- 
try by Darius *. Rennel thinks that the name 
Targitaus has some affinity to that of Turic ; and 
that the person, to whom it is applied, might be 
the father of the Ottomans t. Rudbeck views it 
as a corruption of Thor-gaut, which in Goth, sig- 
nifies, " the god Thor." 

The name Vejovis seems to have been under- 
stood by Ovid, as if it had meant Jupiter parvus, 
or non magnus, because represented as young, 
and without a beard t. But Rudbeck asserts that 
the Scandinavians called Jupiter Veijofur ; and a 
very different meaning is given to the initial syll- 
able by northern etymologists. As we are in- 
formed, that in the mythology of their country, 
Ve was the name of one of the sons of Bare or 
Uranus ||, Vel is rendered sanctus§. Vae, ac- 
cording to Gudmund Andreae, signifies religio ; 
vije sacro, religiose ordino aut sacrifico %. Ve- 
relius explains ve by sacro. In the Glossary to 
the Edda it is rendered in the same manner**. 



* Herod, lib. iv. c. 5. 6. 7. f Geogr. Herod, p. 73, 74. 
} V. Wachter. Gloss, vo. wan, col. 1818. 

j| Atlantic. I. 194. § Atlantic. I. p. 719. 

f Lex. p. 251. 

* * Ve in plurali notat Sacra, loca sacrosancta, sacrosane- 

tam loci religionem, asylum, pacem. p. 693; 



OF THE GREEKS. 9? 

The name of Juno has been viewed as formed 
ajuvando. Rudbeck deduces it from Gio, or Jo, 
terra. He says, that in Goth., Jo och J una is a 
common phrase, signifying, Maritus et uxor*. 
Suio-Goth. hion, which seems to have been some- 
times written jon, denotes persons in the conjugal 
relation. In Suio-Goth. February is named Goe- 
maenad from Gio, or Juno, the wife of Thor. The 
origin of the Gr. designation of Juno, if sought 
in Goth., would indicate a strict analogy to the 
connubial state. "H^a, or r/ H^ 5 has been traced to 
ffa«, amot. But as, in the northern dialects, herr 
signifies dominus, in Alem. herr a is domina ; sy- 
nonymous with Lat. hera, a lady, a mistress, as it 
so nearly resembles the Gr. name of this goddess. 
Schilter, indeed, gives Hera as in Alem. equiva- 
lent to Juno, domina aeris. 

Minerva, the name given by the Romans to 
the goddess of wisdom, has been traced to Goth. 
minni, ingenium, sapientia, minn-as « meminisse. 
Isidore says, that Minerva was viewed as having 
received the name of Pallas from the island of 
Pallene in Thrace, in which she was nursed t. 
As the Greeks called her Sigaea, this designation 
has been deduced from Goth, sigge victoria. 
Under this name, Rudbeck asserts, Minerva is ce- 

* Atlantic. I. 709. 

f "H ? * 32, i s lg«W xi 9 . Plat. Cratyl. Oper. 1. 401. Paris. 1 578. 

\ Origin, ap. Auct.Ling. Lat. col. 1029, 



98 ON THE ORIGIN 

lebrated by the Scalds and in the Edda*. This 
might seem to correspond to her warlike charac 
ter, and to the name of her temple at Athens, 
which was called N/wr, or Victory, As Plato, in 
his Timaeus, says that the goddess, called Athena 
by the Greeks, is worshipped in Egypt under the 
name of Neith; Wachter, remarking that tins 
deity had the charge of the distaff, takes notice of 
the affinity of Germ, neit, which signifies a thread, 
and of net-en to sew, qu. to bind with thread. 

Vesta, though believed to preside over fire, was 
according to some ancient writers the same with 
Minerva, and also with the Earth\, Wachter, 
identifying her with the latter, derives the name 
from Germ, vest stabilis, in imitation of Ovid's 
etymon. 

Stat vi Terra sua, vi stando Vesta vocatur. 

Fast. lib. vi. 299 1 

But neither of these authors has observed, that 
Vesta is merely the Gr. name 'ir/a or 'Er/a, as 
changed in its transition into Latin. Herodotus in- 
forms us that her name in Scythic was Tabiti\\. It 
fa not improbable, that this is allied to Islandic habit 



* Atlantic. II. 261. f Sclied. de Dis Germ. p. 117. 138. 
J This corresponds to Plutarch's idea> K*/tt* T^sxyc^c-x^ 
•i TrccXxio}, haw SMvig **&*- De Prim. Frigid. Oper. IL p. 954,. 
U Lib. iv. c. 59. 



OF THE GREEKS. 99 

pascua; especially as hd, terra, from which Vere* 
lius says it is derived, is also written tha*. This 
affords a presumption that habit may originally 
have been Thabit. He gives lid and tha as synony- 
mous with Swed. iorden. As Tacitus t testi- 
fies that part of the Suevi sacrificed to Isis ; this 
name, supposed to be given to the Earth, has 
been viewed as originally the same with 'ir/a; es- 
pecially as Herodotus says that the Scythians 
worshipped her in preference to all their other 
deities. There are still remaining many stones 
with Runic inscriptions to Isi-gud, or u Isis the 
goddess!". 

Pausanias relates that Ceres, coming to Argos^ 
was hospitably received by Pelasgus, and that she 
was there instructed by Chrysanthis concerning 
the rape of her daughter ||. This seems perfectly 
consonant with what is asserted by Rudbeck, on 
the faith of the Arundelian Marbles, that the mys- 
teries of Ceres were introduced into Greece by 
Eumolpus, the son of Musaeus the Thracian or 
Scythian, about the year of the world 2565; and 
that Musaeus, who was the disciple of Orpheus, 
had received this information from his master §. 
Lucian also says, that " it was strange that the 
" barbarians were excluded from the mysteries ; 

* Ind. Scytho-Scand. p. 102. f De Mor. German. 

£ Atlantic. II. 550. || Attic, c. 14. p. 34. 

§ Marm. Arundel, p. 163. ap. Atlantic. II. 592. 

g 2 



100 ON THE ORIGIN 

" as Eumolpus, a Thracian and barbarian, institu- 
" ted them among the Athenians V There was 
a temple of the Eleusinian Ceres among the in- 
habitants of Pheneus in Arcadia, who boasted 
that their mysteries were more ancient than those 
of Eleusis, having been brought to them, accord- 
ing to the Delphic oracle, by Naus, who was the 
great-grandson of Eumolpus t. Plutarch acknow- 
ledges the great obligations of the Greeks to the 
Thracians. " What honour shall be left to Eleu- 
" sis, if we are ashamed of Eumolpus ; who, 
" coming from Thrace to Athens, did initiate, 
" and still does initiate, the Greeks in the mys- 
" teries of religion i?" Rudbeck has one just re- 
flection on this subject ; that, as the mourning of 
Ceres for the loss of Proserpine has been viewed 
as a symbol of the effects of the distance of the 
sun during a severe winter, when the earth appears 
as if totally barren, it is more natural to suppose 
that these rites had their origin in a northern re- 
gion than in one which enjoys a more equable 
temperature ||. 

* 'EroXfiYitrz 21 irors xx) A^nvxia^ l^otrvrcti dnfitr/a, tJ» x-goljnrtvs 
aKiarxg, $*« rivcc ahixv tc7roKXuxcri ts$ fixgZu^its, xxi txvtx, t£ t<v 
nXirkv *vto7$ Kxrx<r%vufczvi{ Evfio^7ra, /3ag€<eg8, xxt G^utios 'cro;. 
Lucian. Demonax, p. 552, 553. Paris. 1615. 

f Pausan. Arcadic. p. 630. 

\ Tjj 2s 'EXivrTvt rl XtiTTiTeti xxhh, av xi<r%vvafiii6x tov Evuel-rroi. 
'U be Ggctxng pvtctsaq IfivnTi xxi Mvii rovq EAAij*.'*? ; De EXillh 

Oper. II. p. 607. 
H Atlantic. II. 593. 



OF THE GREEKS. 101 

The name of Ceres in Lat., and of a*t, said to be 
an abbreviation of a^t^ in Gr., was sometimes 
figuratively used to denote corn itself; because 
this goddess was supposed to have first taught the 
use of it, in the same manner as the vine was 
called Bacchus*. But she had also the name of Ah&J, 
which by the Latins was written Dia, as in Gruter's 
Inscriptions. The mother was denominated Aw 
TroLKaiv. or the elder Ceres, and her daughter Proser- 
pine, A>/a vU, or the youngert. Ovid designs the lat- 
ter Deois, or the daughter ofDeiai. I have met with 
no rational etymon of the Lat. name. Rudbeck 
contends that it is originally the same with Goth. 
torn fmmentumll. Could we view it as of Scythian 
origin, it might rather be traced to Suio-Goth. kaer- 
er, exactly synonymous with Lat.^wm; because she 
went from place to place bewailing the loss of her 
daughter. No vestige of the name Ceres remains 
in Gr. But it may have been borrowed from the 
Etrurians, who were Pelasgi. Of her Greek name 
various etymons have been given. According to 
Plato, it is, quasi ltlv<ra «c ph-mf, furnishing food as 
a mother §. Here Rudbeck is more happy in his 
conjecture than in most instances^. He views 

* Clem. Alexand. Admon. ad. Gent. p. Vt'. 

\ Awn m, Anwrs nct^ui*. Inscr. Regillae, ap. Spanh. in Cal- 
limach. p. 738. Sacrificium Deae Diae.— Sacrum, vel Solemne 
Deae Diae, &c. Gruter. ibid. 

J — Varius Deo'ida serpens. Metamorph. lib. vi. v. ] 14. 

j| Atlantic. II. p. 449. § Cratyl. Oper. I. p. 404. 

% Atlantic. II. 448, 449. 



102 ON THE ORIGIN 

the term as equivalent to Dei-moder or Dij-moder, 
from Goth, deja, which he renders mater, nutrixj 
although it more strictly signifies, " a woman who 
has the charge of a dairy" It is immediately 
allied to daeggia, deja, did, lactare. Or it might 
be from Goth, dae, denoting what is excellent, 
conjoined with moder; 

Herodotus affirms that it is the Egyptian Isis, 
who in Gr. is called a^t^*. This, however, 
affords no certain proof that the worship of Isis 
had been transferred from Egypt. The same 
pame, as. we have seep, was given by the Suevi to 
one of their female deities; and although it has 
been supposed that it might refer to Vesta, it 
should be remembered that both Vesta and Ceres 
were exhibited under the same symbols as the 
Earth t. It has also been shewn, that, according to 
the testimony of the Greeks themselves, her rites 
were introduced by Scythians.) 



§ 17. Of Diana and Apollo. 

{ Some Roman writers assert, that as Janus was 
the same with Apollo or the sun, Diana, who sym- 
bolized the moon, was originally denominated 
Jana ; but that the letter D was prefixed, as in 

* Hist. lib. ii. c. 59. \ V. Sched, de Dis German, p. 157. 



OF THE GREEKS. 103 

some other instances, euphoniae causa. They 
even identify Jana, as signifying the moon, with 
Juno *. The Scalds pretend that Dia or Disa 9 
because, in time of famine, she counselled her 
husband, king Sigtrud, to employ the people in 
hunting and fishing, received this name as signi- 
fying a nurse. Rudbeck, in support of his theory, 
refers to Pausanias, who relates that Jupiter, when 
banished by Saturn, was nourished by three Ar- 
cadian nymphs, who were named Thisoa, Neda, 
and Hagno; and that the inhabitants of the 
northern part of mount Lycaeus, in Arcadia, 
whose territory bore the name of Thisoa, honour- 
ed her above all other deities t. The northern 
mythologist, therefore, asserts that Thisoa was 
the same with Disa. 

The Greeks indeed affirm that their Artemis, 
or Diana, was denominated Dictynna, from 
J/KTva, because she invented hunting-nets t. As 
Diana is still represented by the Greeks as attend- 
ed with dogs of chase, Disa appears on some 
Scandinavian monuments with the same symbol ||. 
It seems correspondent to the character of a 
nurse, that the great Diana was also represented 



* Macrob. Saturnal. lib. i. c. 9. 15. Varro, lib. i. e. 37. In 
the instances referred to, however, this letter is still inserted to 
prevent a hiatus. 

t Arcad. c. 38. p. 678, 679. 

X Plutarch, de Solert. Oper. II. p. 965. 984. 

J| Atlantic. II. 547. 



104 ON THE ORIGIN 

as Midtimammia. The same symbol Disa is said 
to exhibit on Runic stones, in perfect analogy 
with her name, which is derived from/Goth, dia, 
deja^ lactare, nutrire. Rudbeck views the name 
Diana as formed from Goth, dij mamma, or dij 
terra, and ana regina*; and it has been often ob- 
served, that while Diana, as in heaven, denotes 
the moon, she, in relation to earth, is the same 
with Tellies. 

One deity, who bore this name, had a particu- 
lar relation to Scythia. Orestes, it is said, trans- 
ported the image of Diana Taurica from Scythia 
into Laconia t. The Scythians were wont to im- 
molate human victims on her altar ; but the La- 
cedemonians detested this barbarous worship. 
They, however, fearing that the northern goddess 
might avenge her own quarrel, preserved a me- 
morial of the ancient oblation. For they caused 
boys to be annually scourged on her altar to the 
effusion of their blood t* The image of Diana, 
which was brought from Scythia, was first wor- 
shipped at Brauron, near Athens, and afterwards 
in Sparta. 

The moon, whom Diana represented, was, by 
the Greeks, called Mene ||. It is evident that 
they had borrowed this designation from the 
Scythians. Diodorus Siculus, indeed, in the ac- 
count which he gives of the mythology of the 



* Atlantic. II. p. 58. + Pausam lib. i. p. 55. 21 P, 2.50 

i Potter's Antiq. II. p. 3S0. || M*>», vtXmi Hesj 



OF THE GREEKS. 105 

Atlantidae or Hyperboreans, mentions this as the 
name formerly given to the moon *. The Latins 
worshipped Mana as presiding over childbirth, 
an attribute of Diana according to the Greeks. 
The same name is given to the moon in all the 
Goth, dialects ; in Moeso-Gothic me?ia, Aleman- 
mcmanoy A. Sax. mona, Islandic mana, Suio-Gothic 
and Danish maane, Belgic maen, German mon. 

It is well known that Diana received the name 
of Hecate 9 when viewed as presiding over witch- 
craft. In this character she was said to ride 
through the air in a chariot drawn by dragons. 
Diodorus Siculus relates, that, as being intimately 
conversant in magical arts, she was thus u trans- 
" ported from the Hyperborean regions, till she 
" seemed to turn aside as a stranger to Peliat." 
The idea of witches riding through the air on 
certain domestic animals, or even on broomsticks, 
has come down almost to our own times ; and 
acts of ancient councils are still extant, in which 
" the false opinion/' that they rode " in company 
" with Diana the deity of the pagans," is con- 
demned t* According to Rudbeck, Hecate is 
in the Scaldic poetry denominated Hecksa, Heh- 
gaufey Hehgydia, from keksa, incantamentis uti, 
whence heksa venefica. Gaate signifies dea ; and 
Hehgaute is " the goddess who presides over in- 



* SsXii'yjiv Pt tw M151/J5V Trzos-uyegivopivw. Bibliotil. lib, iii. C. 57. 

+ Diocl. Sic. lib. iv. c. 51. 

% V. Keysler. Antiq. Septentr. p. 91, 92. 



106 ON THE ORIGIN 

chantments. She is also called Helgate *. The 
term Hel, by itself, denotes the Proserpine of 
the north t. ( 

Apollo, as representing the sun, was naturally 
enough held to be the brother of Diana or the 
moon. The Greeks said that the Hyperborean 
Latona was the mother of Apollo and Diana. 
Diodorus Siculus informs us, that a the Hyper- 
ct boreans relate, in their mythology, that Latona 
" was born in their country ; that for this reason 
" they adore Apollo in preference to all other 
" gods, daily celebrating his worship with per- 
" petual praise, and with the highest honours, by 
" those who are his priests ;" and that " they con- 
" secrated to him a whole city J." We also 
learn from Cicero, that " Apollo, the son of Ju- 
" plter and Latona, came from the Hyperboreans 
" to Delphi H." This accounts for the great re- 
spect paid by the Scythians to this oracle. Dio- 
dorus says, that Apollo, " as it is related, infla- 
" med with the love of Cybele, went with her 
" all the way to the Hyperboreans §." Apollo- 
nius Rhodius narrates the same expedition ; but 
assigns a different reason for it. He left heaven, 
we are informed, " on account of the reproof of 



* Atlantic. II. 352, 353. f Gloss, ad Edd. 

% Biblioth. lib. ii. p. 158. J| De Nat. Deor. lib. iii. 

§ Biblioth. lib. iii. c. 50. 



OP THE GREEKS. 107 

* bis father, and came to the sacred people of 
" the Hyperboreans*". Apollo had expressed 
displeasure at Jupiter for striking his son Escu- 
lapius with a thunderbolt. Apollonius calls this 
people sacred, either because of the honour of this 
visit, or as knowing that Latona w T as born among 
them. His scholiast, on another passage, asserts 
that Apollo was worshipped by the Hyperborer 
ans t. According to Claudian, this deity betook 
himself to the Hyperboreans, when he abandoned 
Delphi X. 

Herodotus says, that the Scythians worshipped 
Apollo under the name of Oetosyrus ||. There is 
reason to think that this designation appeared in 
a different form in ancient copies ; as Hesychius 
has Goetosyrus, which he explains " the Scythian 
" Apollo §." This name is rendered by the learn- 
ed annotator on the Edda, " the good Star." 
" Syr, or Seir" he adds, <c which the Persians 
" employed to denominate the sun, seems to be 
" the same with Thor, only in a different dialect. 
" The ancient people of the north pronounced 
" the th in the same manner as the English do at 



* Argonaut, lib. iv. v. 614. 

f Argonaut. Schol. in lib. ii. v. 677. 

t Pulcher Apollo 

Lustrat Hyperboreas Delphis cessantibus aras. 

De Hon. Consul, 
|| Hist. lib. iv. c. 59. 



108 ON THE ORIGIN" 

* present, not very different from ss * 5f . Saera, 
Sira, and Syr, in Islandic, still signify Lordt. 
It is the name given to the Supreme^ Being in 
some Runic monuments. Not only was the dog- 
star by the Greeks called Sir-ius, but the sun 
himselft. Rudbeck observes, that Atta-Sir, or 
Otta-Sir, signifying Pater videns, occurs in Drot- 
te Scald. He explains Asir, or Oesir, aeternum 
videns ; viewing sii, videre, as the root of syr, 
and Osiris, the Egyptian deity representing the 
sun, as originally the same II . 

In a passage formerly quoted ^j", containing the 
words of Boeo the Delphian priestess, Apollo is 
expressly acknowledged to be of Hyperborean 
extract. For it is he who is denominated " the 
" divine Aguieus §." 

The Scandinavian deity Balder has been view- 
ed as the same with Apollo. It cannot be doubt- 



* Mallet's North. Antiq. II. p. 67, 68. 

f Saera, sira, Praenomen, dignitatem notans; Gudm. An. 
dreae. He derives it from Heb. ■j^, sar, princeps, TUf sin-, 
principatum gerere; Lex. p. 205. Sir, sire, sira, (Swed. sir), 
licrre, Dominus, &c. undeltal. Sire; Verel. lad. Scytho-Seand. 

J Xu{>Me, o k^.1^, xxt a t« x>vio$ «5">}£. Hesych. 

jj Atlantic. II. p. 14-1. f See above, p. 72. 

§ This designation is equivalent to 'EmV; signifying that 
he presided over the ways. It was, however, applied to those 
in the cities ; while the other seems to have immediate!}' re- 
garded the highways. It is from iyvim, vicus, via, scil. urbis. 
He was represented, in this character, by a sharp pointed pillar 
erected before the doors. V. Hesych. vo. 'A?w *vs« 



OF THE GREEKS. 109 

ed, indeed, that the latter was worshipped by the 
eastern nations under the name of Baal, which 
signifies Lord. Hence, with an additional term, 
he was often denominated Baalsamen, or " the 
" lord of heaven.'' Bald-r^ or bald-ar, in Islandic, 
signifies elatus, potens ; in Alemannic bald, paldo, 
id. A, in the Scandinavian dialects, having an 
intensive power, Rudbeck mentions abald~nr as 
signifying, excelsus potensque ; whence, he says, 
the Greeks and Latins had their Apollo*. Not- 
withstanding the multitude of Greek etymons 
devised to explain this name t, there seems to be 
no evidence that it was of Greek original. We 
are assured, indeed, that it appeared in various 
forms ; as Abellis y Abelios, Apello, &c. t. The 
attributes of Apollo and Balder are very similar. 
The latter is " so handsome in his person, and of 
" so dazzling a look, that he seems to dart forth 
" rays of light." His hair is described as pecu- 
liarly beautiful. " This god, so radiant and 
" graceful, is also the most eloquent and benign ; 
" yet such is his nature, that the judgments he 
■" has pronounced can never be altered. He 
" dwells in the city of Breidablik* This place is 
" in heaven." Here " are columns, upon which 
" are engraven verses, capable of recalling the 
'" dead to life ||." The term Breidablik has un« 



* Atlantic. II. p. 140. f V. Sched. de Dis German, p. 67. 

X V. Voss. de Idolol. lib. ii. p. 198. 

J! Edda ; Mallet, North. Antiq. II. p. 70, 



110 Ott THE ORIGIN 

doubtedly been formed in order to express the 
apparent orbit of the sun in heaven ; for in Islan- 
dic it literally signifies, " extensive shining/' or, 
M to diffuse splendour." The Scalds say that Bal- 
der " excels all others, and is praised by all." He 
is represented as so beautiful, that he is called 
Jegurst, i. e. the fairest. Rudbeck ventures so 
far on this ground, as to assert that BaaUPhegur 
is originally a Scandinavian designation, qu. 
Balld-fegur, « the fair Balder" or " Apollo" *. 

Every one is acquainted with the far-famed 
tripod of Apollo at Delphi. In like manner, we 
are told, in some very ancient parchments con- 
taining the Scandinavian laws, Balder is repre- 
sented as sitting on a tripod, dressed in an azure 
gown. Homer describes Apollo as descending 
from the Idaean mountains like a hawk t. In 
Hervarar Saga, c. 15. Balder appears under the 
form of this bird. Servius says, that Virgil learn- 
ed the response given to Aeneas, concerning his 
fate, from Homer, who borrowed it from Orpheus ; 
and that Orpheus derived his information from 
the oracle of the Hyperborean Apollo X. 

Homer uses no epithet more frequently, in re- 
lation to Apollo, than that of'E/M^yo^ longe-jacu- 
lans. He even employs it by itself as a designa- 
tion. Now, as we have seen that Plato calls the 
companion of Opis, in her journey from the Hy- 

* Atlantic. I. p. 764. \ Iliad, o. v. 237. 

% In Virgil. Aen. iii. v. 98. 



OF THE GREEKS. 1 1 1 

perboreans to Delos, Hecaergus in the masculine, 
it appears probable that there had been some 
close connexion between the history of Apollo 
and that of the virgin Argis, and even that tra- 
dition had sometimes confounded the one with 
the other ; especially as it was believed that he 
had visited the country of the Hyperboreans. 
Her name indeed was variously written by ancient 
writers - 9 for Pausanias and Callimachus call her 
Hecaerge. 

Servius having mentioned Opis and Hecaerge, 
the bearers of the sacred things to Delos, says, 
that " they educated Hecaergos Apollo, and 
" Diana, which is known from the names of these 
" deities, the latter being denominated Opis, and 
the former Hecaergus." Apollo and Diana were 
indeed called Hecaergos and Hecaerge, in the 
hymns addressed to them conjunctly. Branehus, 
the ancient bard, is mentioned by Clemens Alex- 
andrinus as using these designations *. Nonnus 
is thought to be the only writer extant, besides 
Callimachus, who mentions Loxo as one of these 
Hyperborean virgins t. It has been supposed 
that Apollo had the surname of Aog/'af, because 



Stromat. lib. v. p. 416. 
t"l*£s AOHflt, evvfycov OYniN £#«<**; clamabat Loxo, conso- 
nant Upin habens, quae natantem, ut additur, inhibuit sororem 
Hecaergen, Kxa-iyyirw EKAEITAN. Dionysiac. ap. Spanheim. 
Observ. h\ Callinjacb. p. 504. 



112 ON THE ORIGIN 

his oracles were generally very obscure and am- 
biguous, qu. ko^o. crooked *. But he seems to have 
derived this epithet from the virgin^ Loxo, as 
that of Hecaergos is said to have originated from 
his obligations to Hecaerge. Delos itself is sup- 
posed to have been denominated Scythiadis, as 
Stephanus of Byzantium relates from Nicanor, 
because of the Scythian origin of those who took 
the lead in the worship of that island, and even 
of Apollo the deity believed to preside there t. 
This is illustrated by the language of the poet 
Claudian, by whom the virgins referred to are 
designed " the offspring of Scythia t." 

Abaris, whom Herodotus mentions ||, is said to 
have been the priest of the Hyperborean Apollo, 
" and thoroughly instructed in sacred things. 
" He, on his return from Greece, carried with 
" him the gold collected as an offering to this 
" deity, that he might lay it up in his temple 
"among the Hyperboreans §." Pythagoras, 
on account of his great wisdom, was held, not 
only by the Crotoniatae, but by Abaris himself) 

* Potter's Antiq. I. p. 280. 

■j- K.tK>Sitr8xi <& uvtviv xctt Y.x.vfott$x, HiKccr*>£ $vi<rli. Vo. Ak*o;-. 

{ Jungunt se geminae metuenda feris Hecaerge, 
Et soror, optatum nuraen venantibus, Opis> 
Progenies Scythiae, Divas, nemorumque potentes, 
Fecit Hyperboreis Delos prolata pruinis. 

In Stilich. iii. v. 253. 

|| Hist. lib. iv. c. 36. § Iamblich. Vit. Pythagor, c. 19 



OF THE GREEKS. 113 

who was his disciple, to be the Hyperborean 
Apollo*. When Herodotus speaks, in the place 
quoted, of " the fable concerning Abaris ;" he 
does not mean to deny the existence of the per- 
son, but to ridicule the story of his receiving an 
arrow from Apollo, on which he made the circuit 
of the earth. He is said to have described the 
journey of Apollo to the Hyperboreans. 

It has been asserted, that the worship of Apollo 
by the Hyperboreans was the same with that of 
Baal-Zephon or Baal-Sephon, mentioned in Exod. 
xiv. 2. Num. xxxiii. 7. as the name of a place in 
Egypt, which, in the Targum, is rendered " the 
" idol of Zephon," being viewed as the scene of 
idolatrous worship. This hypothesis is founded 
on the use of the word Ziphon in Hebrew, and of 
Siphon in Chaldaic, which denotes the north, or 
the region lying farthest to the north. Hence 
the name Baal-Zephon lias been understood as 
equivalent to Apollo Hyperboreus\ . 

It has been generally admitted, that the fable 
of Adonis refers to the sun, and that the name is 
borrowed from Hebrew or Phenician Adon, equi- v 
valent to Baal, lord t. This has also been view- 
ed as the same with Odin, sometimes written 
Audi?i, Audon, and Adoen, in Runic inscriptions. 
It has, in like manner, been identified with 



* Aelian. Var. Hist. lib. ii. c. 26. Iamblich. ibid, 

f Atlantic. I. p. 761. 

4 V. Sched. de Dis German, p. 74, 75. 

h 



114 ON THE ORIGIN 

Attin, who according to the northern mythology, 
was one of the three sons of Bore. This name 
has, by the Scalds, been transferred tcf the sun *. 
It is no contemptible proof of the affinity of all 
these names that their identity is asserted by 
Macrobius t. He gives Attin as a Phrygian de- 
signation : and this is not surprising, as the Phry- 
gians, we know, were originally Scythians. 

Ilus was the name of Saturn in Phenician t. 
He may, indeed, seem to have no connexion with 
Apollo. But such was the confusion in the my- 
thology of all the heathen nations, that he is iden- 
tified with Baal, and of course with the sun ||. 
Some view this term as borrowed from the He- 
brews, as El was one of the names of the true 
God. The sun, according to Eusebius,is sometimes 
called Ilus, i. e. fire, from his light and heat §. 
Now, it is to be observed, that, in the mythology 
of the north, Wil is the name of one of the 
sons of Bore. If it should be supposed that this 
designation, being applied to the Pluto of other 



* Atlantic. II. p. 144, U5. 381, 382. 

f Adonin quoque Solera esse non dubitatur. — Similiter Phry- 
ges fabulis, et sacrorum administrationibus immutatis circa raa- 
trem Deum et Attinem eadem intelligi praestant. Quis enim 
ambigat matrem Deum terrain habere ? — Solem vero, sub no- 
mine Attinis, ornat et fistula, et virga. Saturnal. lib. i. c. 21. 

% Cumberl. Sanchoniath. p. 29.31. 473. 

j| Damascius ap. Phot. Biblioth. col. 1050. 

J Praepar. Evang. lib. i. p. 36. 



OF THE GREEKS. 115 

nations, does not so well correspond to Apollo ; 
there can scarcely be a doubt, that Il-us is origin- 
ally the same with Uil, the name given to the 
Sun by the Moeso-Goths *. This has every ap- 
pearance of affinity to Gr. 8*-i«, poetically wk-w, 
the sun ; which has been deduced from tm splen- 
dor. But it deserves to be remarked, that Isl. 
yl-ur signifies calor, elld-r ignis t, Goth, ell, elld, 
Dan. ildy Pers. ala, id. Goth, ella signifies accen- 
dere, ardere. 

Hyperion with some was a name of the Sun 
himself, according to others of his father. Dio- 
dorus Siculus relates his nativity from the ac- 
counts of the Cretans, who made him one of theTi- 
tanidaet. His name was explained by the Greeks, 
as denoting one who " walks above us ||." This 
is nearly allied to one sense given of it according 
to the Goth, etymon ; Yfwer-Ion, or Yper.Ion 9 
homo terrae natus, also, terrae dominus O 



§.18. Of Neptune, Venus, and Mars. 

\We learn from Herodotus, that the royal Scy- 
thians sacrificed to Neptune. His name in their 



* V. Mar. i. 32. xiii. 24. 

f Gudm. Andr. Lex. p. 61. 131, 132. 

X Biblioth. Hist. lib. v. c. 66, 67. 

IS 'YTTlgiivctj VXeg HfAStq UvT66 « JjAfOJ. HCSycIl. 

$ Atlantic. II. p. 62. 

A 2 



116 ON THE ORIGIN 

language was Thamimasades*. Vossius has re- 
marked, that the origin of the names of the Scy- 
thian deities is to be looked for in the ancient 
language of the Germans ; as it can be demon- 
strated that the nations, inhabiting that extensive 
region anciently called Germany, proceeded from 
Asiatic Scythia t. Hoffman justly observes, that 
the origin of these names cannot be easily ascer- 
tained after the lapse of so many ages ; espe- 
cially as it may well be doubted, if they were ac- 
curately expressed by Herodotus t. Rudbeck, 
however, has clearly proved that, in the ancient 
dialects of the Scythian, the first part of the name 
of Neptune denoted a king or ruler. In Totill. 
Scald., thamurkryna signifies, regis corona; thamus* 
skalle, in Hist. Reg. Scald. Norreg., regium ca- 
put ; thaniur-gardin, as used by Procopius ||, urbs 
regia. Hence, as would seem, the name of Ta- 
myris, queen of the Massagetae, according to 
Justin §, or Thamiris, queen of the Getae, as de- 
signed by Jornandes^f; also of Scydrothamis, 
king of the Scythians, mentioned by Tacitus **. 
This, in a Gothic mouth, says the northern 
etymologist, would be Schy trees Tamas, " king of 
" the Scythians ." He views the word as pro- 
perly signifying domitor tf . The verb is used by 

* Hist. lib. iv. c. 59. f De Idolol. lib. ii. c. 82. 

X Lex. vo. Thamimasades, || De Bell. Vandil. 

§ Hist. lib. i. c. 8. % Getic. p. 601. Basil. 1531. 

** Hist. lib. iv. -ff Atlantic. II. 142.— HI. 



OF THE GREEKS. 117 

Ulphilas; tamjan domare, which is the origin of 
the Eng. verb to tame. As the Greeks called the 
sun, AoLpvcijiivw, i. e. " he who tames or subdues*;" 
it has been supposed that the Phenician name of 
Tammuz, mentioned Ezek. viii. 14., which was 
given to the sun, and is synonymous with Adon or 
Adonis, had a common origin. 

As it would appear that the etymon of the first 
part of the word is well founded, I shall venture 
to supply one for the latter part, from the same 
source. In Suio-Goth. mase signifies gurges, a 
whirlpool ; and Isl. mdsa, mdsade, is explained by 
Gudmund Andreae, fremo, gemo. Might not 
Neptune be denominated Thami-masades, either 
qu. domitor gurgitum, " the ruler of the surges ;" 
or domitor fremitus, " the ruler of the roaring 
waves?" 

The origin of Posidon, or Poseidon, the Gr. 
name of this deity, is, as Bochart has observed, in 
vain sought in the Gr. language. Rudbeck de- 
rives this designation from Goth, posse, princeps 
durus, and don fremitus, qu. " The lord of the 
" raging sea.t" If, however, Herodotus had 
sufficient ground for asserting, that u in the first 
" ages none used the name of Poseidon save the 
" Libyans, who," he adds, " still honour this 
" deity" t; it can scarcely be viewed as of Scythian 



* Axftvctfiinvs -h, o *»'a<oj, e daputyv. Clem. Alexandr. Stromal, 
lib. v. p. 414% 

f Atlantic. I. p. 724. % Hist. lib. ii. c. 50. 

h 3 



> 



118 ON THE ORIGIN 

original. Bochart gives this as a Phenician or 
Punic term, the same with Pesitan, signifying 
latus, expansus; which, he observes, is synonymous 
with the name of Japhet> supposed to be the 
Neptune of the heathen nations. For the name 
of this patriarch is understood as alluded to in 
the prediction of his father, " God shall enlarge? 
or " extend Japhet" *• 

Necken, Nick-nr, or Nick, is generally viewed 
as the Neptune of Scythia t. But his attributes 
seem rather too limited for this ascription. Some, 
however, identify Neptune with Niord in the Edda, 
said to be the ruler of the winds, who checks the 
fury of the sea, of storms, and of firej. The Gauls 
called this divinity Naith ; whence a rock, in the 
lake of Geneva, which was consecrated to him, 
still bears the name of Neiton. Even according to 
the Gothic mythology, the place in which Niord 
dwells is called Noatun. From what source the 
Latins had the name of Neptwne, it is impossible 
to say. But Cicero's deduction a nando, and Var- 
ro's a nubendo, or a nuptu, are quite unsatisfactory. 
Rudbeck gives his name in the form of Niftun-ur 
or Niptiin-nr, from Goth, nepsa coercere, and tun y 

* Gen. ix. 27. f V. Keysler. Antiq. Septent. p. 260—263. 

% Mallets North. Antiq. II. p. 71. The learned Glos- 
sarist to the Edda views Niord, in Genitive Niardar, as the 
same with Nereus of the Greeks and Latins, the son of 
Oceanus and Tethys. He also observes that fel. Niorvn is the 
ancient name of a nymph or goddess, which may perhaps be 
identified with Gr. Nereis and Lat. Nerio, Neriene. 



OF THE GREEKS. 119 

a designation of the sea in the Edda, because it 
surrounds; qu. " he who restrains the sea*". But 
Bochart traces the term to Heb. nns. pathah y di- 
latavit, which in the conjugation niphal assumes 
the form of n/lM, niphthai. 

Perhaps it deserves to be subjoined, that, as the 
ancient poets ascribe the formation of the first 
horse to Neptune, it would seem, from the Scan- 
dinavian mythology, that this was merely a figure 
for the invention of ships. Servius remarks on 
the language of Virgil on this subjectt, that some 
named this horse scythius. Rudbeck has observed 
that Goth, skuta, whence the term scythius may 
have originated, signifies a" small ship, also a horse 
or mare ||. In Suio-Goth., however, skiut signi- 
fies a horse, and shuta a boat. But Ihre traces 
both to Isl. sMotr, Suio-Goth. skoet, celer, citus. 

The celestial Venus, as we learn from Herodo- 
tus, was by the Scythians named Arippasa, or ac- 
cording to another reading which is generally pre- 
ferred, Artimpasa%. There is a remarkable sinii* 
larity between this designation and that of ' Af tijuh;, 
one of those by which Diana was known among 
the Greeks. This is explained by Plato as de- 



* Atlantic. I. p. 723. f Phaleg, lib. i. c. 1. 

X Tuque, 6 cui prima frementem 

Fudit equum magno tellus percussa tridenti, 

Neptune. Georg. lib. i. v. 12. 

II Atlantic. I. p. 721. § Hist. lib. iv. c. 59. 

h4 



120 OX THE ORIGIN 

noting modesty of manners becoming a virgin % 
and try Clemens Alexandrinus, qu. " cutting the 
air", as respecting the motion of the inoont. It 
is well known that Diana and Venus, how differ- 
ent soever their attributes in one respect, were 
identified ' in others ; and that Venus was wor- 
shipped as the Moont. Shall we suppose, then, 
that the Greeks had retained for their Diana the 
Scythian name of Venus? 

Hesy chius writes ArtimaeasaW. The ancient 
Goths called Venus Iordem-asa, and Ardem-asa, 
i. e. terrae dea; sometimes, though rarely, Ardem- 
basa. The first part of the word is from arda, 
jarda, iord 9 the earth; conjoined with asa, and at 
times with basa, signifying a princess § . 

Venus was commonly known to the Greeks un- 
der the name Aphrodite, which, according to He- 
siod and Plato % 9 intimated that she was born of 
the foam of the sea, Neptune being called her 
father. This etymon is undoubtedly more natu- 
ral than most of those given by the Greeks, being 
congruous to the fable. As Venus is by the 
northern nations denominated Fro, Freia, Frigga, 
she is supposed to have taken her name from Goth. 



* 'Afr^tss; In Cratyl. Oper. I. p. 406. 
f Al^rcf.uq. Stromat. lib. v. p. 411. 
% V. Banier's Mythol. b. i. c. 15. 
| 'A^Ti^ccc-xvy cvpccvioci 'A<Pi>ooi7r,t vn* ~kv6£v. 
§ Atlantic. II. p. 579. 
ff \\o^irr l3 hx rh t* kytfv ymnf. h\ Cratyl. Opcr. I. p. 406. 






OF THE GREEKS. 121 

fro, froe, semen. Serenius gives fra as a Swed. 
term for spuma. Frogga also signifies spumare. 
Rudbeck therefore views 'A^oli'm, and Aphrodisium, 
as formed from fro, and this dea. It may to be re- 
marked, that as, with the Greeks, Venus was the 
daughter of Neptune, Freia acknowledged Niord, 
the Neptune of the north, as her father*. Festus 
explains the term Frutinal, Templum Veneris 
Frutii. As Solinus testifies, that " Aeneas conse- 
" crated the image at Laurentum, which he had 
" brought from Sicily, to his mother Venus," in 
some copies it is added, " who is called FrutisX" 
St Augustine informs us that the Romans " wor- 
<c shipped the rural divinities, that they might 
" have abundant crops, and among these espe- 
" dally Friiti-seja\\." This name is explained, Dea 
semen seminans§. Pliny says, that she receiv- 
ed the name of Seta from sowing^: and, indeed, 
the term must be viewed as having the same 
origin with Mo$so-Goth. sai-an, Island, and Dan. 
saae, Belg. saey-en, &c. to sow. Rudbeck views 
Frutinal, the name of the temple, as formed from 
Frutis and Goth, all, Jiall, qu. Veneris regia do- 



* V. Mallet's North. Atitiq. II. p. 76. 

f Auct. Lat. Ling. p. 291. 

X Solin. Polyhist. c. 8. ap. Hoffman, vo. Frutis. But in 
both the editions in my possession, that of Vienna 1520, and 
of Lyons, by Gryphius, 1560, 'a^aS/tu occurs. 

|| De Civitat. Dei, lib. iv. c. 24. § Ihre Glossar. vo. Froe . 

fl Seiamque a serendo. Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. c. 2. 



122 ON THE ORIGIN 

mus*. As Suidas designs Venus Phryga, and 
Plutarch Phrygiaf; it has been supposed that 
these terms are synonymous with Frejd or Frigga* 
I need scarcely mention that Friday, which is de- 
nominated materially in the same manner in all 
the Goth* dialects, is the same day of the week 
that was dedicated to Venus by the Romans. 

Macrobius has observed, that Varro agrees 
with Cingius, in the assertion made by the lat- 
ter, in a book which he left De Fastis, that 
even the name Venus was not known to the Ro- 
mans under their kings, either in Latin or in 
Greek t. The conjectures of the Roman writers, 
as to the origin of this name, are rather ludi- 
crous. Cicero says that she is called Venus a 
veniendo [|. Isidore gives another still more sin- 
gular §. As some read the compound term Suc- 
cotk-benotk, in 2 Kin. xvii. 30., " the tabernacles 
44 of Benoth," it is said, that under this name 
the goddess of Love was worshipped by the Ba- 
bylonians; and that the Phenicians erected a 
temple at Carthage, to Sicca Venerea, in imita- 
tion of this idolatrous worship. By changing B 
into F, and supposing Th to be pronounced as 



* Atlantic. I. p. 806. II. 571—573. 

f To ^\ x» 'Avtit&ims if* l*xne*s ; -*£$ rot li-xorrot 'on <?>£vytx <rv 

er« i, p*r«g, **< vh « «" &*»• De ExbuL Oper. II. p. 607. 
\ Saturnal. lib. i. c. 12. || De Nat. Deor. lib. iii. c. 24. 

§ V. Auct. Lat. Ling. col. 1029. 



OF THE GREEKS. 123 

S, the word will bear the form of Venos *. It 
has also been supposed that Binos y mentioned by 
Suidas, is the same deity t. 

But the Gothic supplies us with a more sim- 
ple etymon. In various dialects of this language, 
voaen or *vaen signifies pulcher, elegans. Hire not 
only deduces the name of Venus from this root, 
but observes that Lat. ven-ustus is synonymous. 
Rudbeck asserts that the ancient Goths called 
the Earth Fena-dis, maris dea, and Wena-dis, 
amoris dea ; viewing the latter as formed from 
wen amor, and dis dea. The Goths also acknow- 
ledged Venus by the name of Astar-gyda. This 
is the Astaroth, or Astartel of the Phenicians and 
other eastern nations, by which names they de- 
signed Venus. We have the simple origin of 
the term in Gothic. For astar to this day sig- 
nifies love, and gyda goddess %. But on this it 
is unnecessary to enlarge, as the synonymous 
terms have been elsewhere fully explained ||. 

I have not observed that any writer, besides 
Rudbeck, gives the origin of Cotyttia, the name by 
which the goddess of wantonness was known to 
the Greeks, and was also worshipped by the Thra- 
cians§. « Kotys deia," he says, "is with us 



* Sched. de Dis German, p. 122, 123. f B7v °s> "*** &&• 
% Atlantic. II. p. 4-07. || Etymol. Diet. vo. paysyad. 

§ Potter's Antiq. Greece, I. p. 409. Horat. Epod. 17. v. 
58. Juvenal. Sat. 2. v. 91. 



124 ON THE ORIGIN 

, u the goddess of love*." He derives the name 
from Goth, kota lascivire, which strictly expres- 
ses her debased character t. ( 

Mars corresponds to Odm, or Woden, of the 
northern nations ; to whom the fourth day of the 
week was consecrated. For the Romans inter- 
changed the days appropriated by the Scythians 
to Mercury and Mars. The Greeks called him 
"Ajw 9 as Plato believed, because of his masculine 
strength t. Odin was denominated Arimadr, and 
soldiers arimen : and as the same word in Gr., 
which is the name of Mars, also signifies ferrum, 
Goth. am\ whence the words above mentioned 
are formed, denotes a weapon, telum, sagitta H. 

The ancients believed that Mars had his origin 
in Thrace, and that he resided there §. Hence 
he was called " the god of the Thracians," and 
said to " preside over Getic fields %" But we 

* Atlantic. II. p. 575. 

f A variety of cognate terms may be found in Etymol. 
Diet. Scott. Lang., vo. caige, and cate. 

\ KotToe, to eippev T5 x.a.1 Kxree, to #v£g«ov v Ag>£. In Cratvl. Oper. 

I. p. 409. 

|] V. Gloss. F.ddae, vo. Heria-favdor. 

§ Quis in X nrac iae finibus procreatum [Martem], non So- 
phocles Atticus, cunctis consentientibus theatris ? Arnob. 
cont. Gent. 1. iv. 

'o ph Q>^.Kr,y Ti &Z/iKsy, Homer. Odyss. 6. 

Martis domicilium et sedem in Thracia locat. 

Statii Tliebaid. lib. vii. 
f Gradivumque patrem, Geticis qui pracsidet arvis. A'irgil, 



OF THE GREEKS. 125 

have already seen, that the Thracians were Ge- 
tae or Scythians. It may be viewed as a proof 
of their high veneration for him, that, as Hero- 
dotus informs us, to him only they " thought it 
" proper to erect images, and altars, and tem- 
" pies # . This deity particularly suited the war- 
like disposition of his worshippers. It would ra- 
ther seem, that the Scythic name of Mars did 
not materially differ from that given him in Gr. ; 
as the ancient historian, while he specifies the 
Scythic designations of almost all the other deities 
whom he had mentioned, repeats that of Mars 
in the same form in which it had been already 
written. 

It may be added, that the Glossarist to the 
Edda has remarked the apparent affinity between 
the Gr. name of Mars, and Goth, herr, war, also 
an army. As "a^ signifies both Mars and prae- 
litem, it is singular that the same word, in the 
Goth, languages, seems originally to have had 
this double meaning. For Goth, herre, Germ. 
herr, dominus, can scarcely be viewed as radi- 
cally diner ent from haerr, herr, Germ, her, ex- 
ercitus. Hence Odin, the Mars of Scandinavia, 
is denominated Herian, also Heria-faudr and 
Herfauthr, i.e. " the father of war.") 

* Hist. lib. iv. c. 59, 



126 ON THE ORIGIN" 



§19. Of Mercury, and Bacchus. 



LThe Gr. name of Mercury, 'Ejyw, has been 
duced from efya dico, and also from t^aWa, in* 
terpretor. But it is evident, that the verb has 
been formed from the noun ; this deity being 
viewed as the great interpreter. Wachter de- 
rives the name from Germ, herm aries, because 
a ram still appears, as the companion of Mercury, 
on gems, lamps, coins, and statues. He endea- 
vours to confirm this etymon, by observing, that 
as the invention of the arts is ascribed to him, 
it is said that he taught the mode of spinning 
and weaving wool for making garments. 

The Hermes of the Greeks has been univer- 
sally acknowledged to be the Thoth or Theuth of 
the Egyptians. That he is the same, is affirm- 
ed by Sanchoniatho # . The Gothic nations cal- 
led Mercury Tcutates. The identity of this 
name with Theuth, or Taaut-us, as it is written 
by Philo Byblius, can scarcely be doubted. Ta- 
citus declares, that he was the chief object of 
worship among the Germans t. He received the 
name of Teutates in Spaint; and it has been sup- 



* Cumber]. Sanchon. p. 28. f De Mor. Germ. 

J Scipio in tumulum, quern Mercurium Teutntem appellant, 
advertit, &c. Liv. Hist. lib. xxvi. 






OF THE GREEKS. 127 

posed, that both the Gauls and Iberians borrow- 
ed his worship from the Egyptians *. It may be 
questioned, however, if the Scythians did not 
precede the Egyptians in this idolatry. Annius 
of Viterbium asserts, that the Germans called 
Mercury Teutates t. It has been also said, that 
Thaut or Thiet, in their ancient language, is the 
general name for the deity. Hence Theod, or 
Thiet, occurs so frequently as a component part 
of the names of the Goths and Germans. 

Notwithstanding the similarity, or even iden- 
tity, of denomination, it seems improbable, on 
different accounts, that the Scythians adopted 
the worship of Mercury from the Phenicians, or 
Egyptians. The Thracians, one branch of them, 
were peculiarly attached to this idol. " Their 
" princes," says Herodotus, " besides the popu- 
" lar deities, and in preference to them, worship 
" Mercury. They swear by him alone, and call 
" themselves his descendants}:." While the same 
writer acknowledges, that the Greeks borrowed 
some of their religious rites from the Egyptians, 
he particularly excepts the shocking obscenity 
of the Phallus, that distinguished the statues of 
Mercury ; which " they learned not from the 
" Egyptians, but from the Pelasgi. — For this," 
he adds, " the Pelasgians have a sacred tradition 



* Bochart. Phaleg, lib. i. c. 35, p. 690. 

f Ad Beros. V. Sched. de Dis Germ. p. 108. 

% Hist. lib. v. c. 7. 



128 ON THE ORIGIN 

" which is explained in the Samothracian mys- 
" teries V Rudbeck affirms, that this indecent 
symbol appears on some of the Runitafs or ca- 
lendars of the Scandinavians ; and is at pains to 
prove that the language of the Scythians has the 
honour of giving birth to the term Phallus, the 
origin of which was unknown to the Greeks and 
Latins t. This may have been transferred to 
Mercury, but appears originally to have belong- 
ed to Apollo ; and is supposed to have been em- 
ployed as the emblem of that fecundity which the 
sun communicates to the earth. In the northern 
calendars, the phallus marks the winter solstice, 
when the sun is about to revisit our hemisphere. 
Macrobius gives a similar account of the meaning 
of this ceremony, which, he says, " is for the most 
" part performed in spring, when the whole 
" world receives a sort of regeneration from the 
" gods t." It affords a strong presumption in 
favour of the prior claim of Apollo, that Baal- 
phegor, emphatically designed in the holy scrip- 
tures, u that shame ||," is generally understood 
to have had the same character § j and Baal un- 
doubtedly denoted the sun. 

Verstegan informs us, that the Saxons " had 
" the idoll Ermenseivl in great reputation, his 
" name of Ermensewl, or Ennesetcl, being as 

* Ibid. lib. ii. e. 51. f Alantic. II. p. 293, 294. 

J Saturnal. lib. i. c. 7. || Hos. ix. 10. 

§ V. Earner's Mythol. B. vii. c. 6. 



OF THE GREEKS. " 129 

" much to say, as the pillar or stay of the poore. 
« —This idoll," he adds, " the Francks and the 
§ other Germans, aswel as the Saxons, did also 
'? seme and adore. And whereas Tacitus saith*, 
<c that of all the gods, the Germanes especially 
" honored Mercuric, and vpon certaine dayes 
" offered men vnto him in sacrifice, this idoll 
" Ermensewl is of diuers taken to be the same 
" that the Romans interpreted for Mercuric, 
" though some others haue interpreted him for 
" Mars t." Could we rest on the testimony of 
Verstegan, the name might seem allied to that 
of Hermes. But, under this designation, they 
perhaps commemorated their illustrious and be* 
loved general Herman, or Arminius t. The pecu- 
liar devotion of the ancient Germans to Mercury, 
is a strong collateral proof of their consanguinity 

* De Mor. Germ. c. 9. f Restitution, p. 79. 

J Since this article was sent to press, I have observed that 
Schedius mentions the same idol under the name of Irmensaul. 
Some, he says, render it " the pillar of Hermes/' or Mercu- 
ry. Crantz, in his Saxon, lib. ii. c. 9, asserts that this idol is 
worshipped by the Saxons in Westphalia ; and Ditmar relates 
that at Mersburg, on the river Sala, there is an image with 
this inscription ; Dux ego gentis Saxonum victoriam certain poU 
liceor me venerantibus ; Lib. ii. p. 15. I find that the conjec- 
ture, thrown out in the text, is confirmed by the judgment of 
Schedius ; " This pillar," he says, " anciently called Hermans 
" said, was erected in honour of H arminius, the general of 
" the Cherusci, not less intrepid in war than sage in council, 
" who defeated the Romans with great slaughter." De Dis 
Germ. p. 476, 477. 

i 



130 ON THE ORIGIN 

to the Thracians, who had, as we have seen, a 
similar partiality. 

There is reason to think, that the worship of 
Tlieuth was not originally Egyptian. Cyril of 
Alexandria says, that Mercury " went down 
" into Egypt to penetrate further into their mys- 
" terious arts and sciences ; and that at his re- 
" turn he assumed the name of Tentat*." Now, 
Mercury is acknowledged to have had a Scythian 
origin. He was the son of Maia the daughter 
of Atlas t. Her name was more anciently pro- 
nounced Maera, as appears from Pausanias. 
Describing Tegea, in Arcadia, he says, " Here 
" are the sepulchres of Tegeates the son of Ly- 
" caon, and of his wife Maera, who, it is said, was 
" the daughter of Atlas t." As Goth, meij denotes 
a virgin, which is in the accusative meja^ Gud- 
mund Andreae, and Verelius, give maer also as 
signifying virgo. In the plural, meijar is the 
form of the word. Now, the Scalds make Mer- 



* In Julian. V. Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. p. 52. 

*}" Zjjw o' tcp AtA«vt<V Mcu'a Tix.i Kvotuoy 'Epfitjv, 

Kv^vk xdecvcirvv, Upl* As;£«s U<roLiot5>*<rx. Hesiod. 

Vobis Mercurius pater est, quern Candida Maja 
Cyllenes gelido conceptiun vertice fudit. 
At Majam (auditis si quicquam credimus) Atla*, 
Idem Atlas generat, coeli qui sidera tollit. 

Virg. Etxu viii. v. 138. 
Cyllene, referred to by Virgil, was a mountain in Arcaiii:t. 

% Meit^oig yvvxixos t5 Tsyitcrv. Sbvycenpx Ti ' AtXxitqi ~ 

£vxi rh Mui^cty. Arcadic. c. 48. p. 698. 



OF THE GREEKS. 131 

• 

cury the son of the nine Muses, or Meijar *. He 
is sometimes called Heimdal, as in the Eddat, 
at other times Hermodur, or Hermod. As the 
latter in the genitive is Hermeds, Rudbeck sup- 
poses that it was softened by the Greeks into 
HermesX. It has been explained, Miles bello 
strenuus. But the origin seems to be rather 
Suio-Goth. herm-a exponere, interpretari, expli- 
care ; which is strictly consonant to the meaning 
generally given to the Gr. name of this god. It 
deserves observation, that according to one mode 
of deduction, the name Theut would admit of 
the same meaning. For the old Frisic verb hu 
thiot-an also signifies interpretari, explicare ||. 
As the name, thus explained, corresponds to the 
general idea of the civilized nations as to the of- 
fice of Mercury, it is not incongruous to that of 
the Scandinavians in regard to their Hermod. For 
he is " the sentinel or watchman of the gods §." 
His Lat. name has, by Paulus Diaconus, been 
very reasonably deduced from merx, mercis%. 



* Atlantic. I. 734-. f V - Mallet's North. Antiq. II. 82. 

X Atlantic. II. p. 241. 

|| The name Teutat has been said to be " of Celtic extrac- 
" tion, Tent Tat, signifying the father of the people." Anc. 
Univ. Hist. vi. 33, N. But Goth, thiod att would have pre- 
cisely the same meaning. I prefer, however, thiot att, qu. 
the father of interpretation. 

§ Edda, Mallet, ut sup. 

f Mercurius a mercibus est dictus. Hunc enim negotiorum 
•mnium existimabant esse deum. Auct. Lat. Ling, p. 315. 

/" 2 



~y 



132 OF THE GREEKS. 

Some have derived it from Celt, mere merchant 
dise, and ur a man, " as if he had been called 
" by way of excellence the man, master, or foun- 
" der of merchandising*." Rudbeck thinks, 
that the different attributes of Mercury, as the 
father of letters, the messenger, the god of mo- 
ney, the inventor of geometry, of astronomy, of 
numbers, of weights and measures, and of mer- 
chandise, may be all traced to Goth, merk-ia, 
which has various senses. It signifies primarily 
to cut on wood ; hence to enumerate, to strike 
metals, to measure, to affix limits, to distinguish 
the heavenly signs. One of its derivatives de- 
notes a mark-stick as the means of computation. 
The northern nations divide by marks or pounds ; 
and as many things are exposed to sale by mea- 
sure, a fair is called marknad. The name of 
Merkis-madur is given to a standard bearer t. 
As Sanchoniatho says that Tlioth or Mercury was 
o yfa^ t uoLTtvc, the scribe of Saturn, Stiernhelm de- 
rives his name, in this application, from merker, 
qu. one who notes down what is dictated by 
another t. 

Mercury was called 'Evolw and 'Eublw by the 
Greeks, and Vialis by the Latins, as taking 
charge of travellers. This exactly corresponds 
to the account given by Caesar of the Celtic 
Mercury ; while it ought to be remembered that 

* Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. p. 33, N. 

f V. Atlantic. I. p. 738. J In Gloss. Ulphil. 



OF THE GREEKS. 133 

the Gauls and Germans were often confounded 
by ancient writers. Having said of the Gauls, 
as Tacitus has done of the Germans, that " they 
" chiefly worship the god Mercury," he adds ; 
" To him belong the greatest number of images. 
" They represent him as the inventor of all arts; 
" as presiding over the ways, and as the guar- 
'* dian of travellers ; to him especially, they as- 
" cribe the care of trade and merchandise V 

The Lat. name Bacchus has been deduced 
from the Gr. one 'ia*x of ? supposed to have been 
given him from iaya clamo, because of the great 
noise made in the revelry of his worship. O- 
thers, for the same reason, derive it from /3oa<y, 
id. Rudbeck assigns to it a Goth, origin. He- 
rodotus is evidently uncertain how to account 
for the introduction of the rites of Bacchus into 
Greece. Now he says that they were imported 
from Egypt ; then he prefers the supposition, that 
Melampus, who first introduced them, had been 
instructed by Cadmus and his Tyrian compan- 
ions, when they came from Phenicia to Boeotia t. 
As it is generally admitted by ancient writers, 
that Bacchus proceeded from the north, and con- 
quered India and Egypt, the ingenious Rudbeck 
claims him as of Scythian origin. There is, he 
says, an universal tradition, that there was an 
ancient Scythian or Thracian, called Bagge, who, 

* De Bell. Gall. vi. c. 17. + Hist. lib. ii. c. 49. 

i 3 



134 ON THE ORIGIN 

proceeding from the north, subdued the eastern 
world. I shall not pretend to settle this point; 
but Bacchus seems to be fair game, as no nation 
can authenticate its claim to him. He derives the 
name from bagge, bock, a goat, a ram, metaphorical- 
ly applied to a leader or general, and formed from 
bock-a impetere, to butt*. According to the rule 
given by Wachter, which has been formerly men- 
tioned, this claim of the Scythians to Bacchus ought 
to be well founded. For the name and emblem 
correspond. ' In the Dionysia of the Greeks a goat 
always appeared. He was sometimes represented 
as covered with the skin of a kidt. As allied to 
this, we may view the fable of his being changed 
by Jupiter into a buckt, as well as of his being 
often delineated with horns. By some writers, 
however, this has been interpreted as symbolical 
of his extensive conquests, the horn being an em- 
blem of victory il. Ovid makes him set out on his 
expedition from Hebrus, a river in Thrace §. Ac- 

* Atlantic. II. 146. f Diodor. Sic. lib.i. c. 10, 

% V. Apollodor. Biblioth. lib. iii. c. 4. 

jj Accedant capiti cornua ; Bacchus eris. Ovid. Sapph. v. 24. 

§ Ibat arenoso Satyris comitatus ab Hebro. 

Fast. lib. iii. v. 737. 
He gives the following account of his travels and conquests. 
Sithonas et Scythicos longum enuraerare triumphos; 
Et domitas gentes, thurifer Inde, tuas. Fast. lib. iii. v. 719. 
The Sithones were undoubtedly Scythians. Some, how- 
ever, instead of Sithonas read Bistonas. If this be the true 
reading, the people referred to were Thracians. V. Cnipping. in 
loc. Cellar. Geogr. I. p. 1085. 



OF THE GREEKS. 135 

cording to Euripides, he passed through Lydia, 
Phrygia, Persia, &c. in his way*. 

The phallus being assigned to him, as well as 
to Mercury, might seem to indicate a common 
origin t. But, as the learned Heyne has observed t, 
there is so much perplexity and inconsistency in 
the accounts given of Bacchus, that we can infer 
nothing certain from them. As different nations 
often claimed the same object of idolatrous wor- 
ship under very different characters, it appears 
that there were more than one who received the 
name of Bacchus. It is one part of the fable, 
that Bacchus, while yet a child, was assaulted by 
the Titans, who are claimed as Scythians||. It 
is generally admitted that he was in Thrace, and 
that Lycurgus, the son of Dryas the Thracian 
prince §, conspired against him. Having over- 
come his adversary, Bacchus, it is said, delivered 
the Thracian kingdom to Tharopus, and taught 



Qtvyav n, Yli^rav & jjPuoC/jjtov? 7rA«x#$, &C. 

Bacch. ap. Strab. lib. xv. p. 687. 

f Herodot. lib. ii. c. 48, 49. 

J Observ. in Apollod. Biblioth. p. 230. 

|| Clem. Alexandr. Stromat. lib. i. p. 9. 

§ I need scarcely observe, that this was quite a different per- 
son from the celebrated sovereign and lawgiver of Sparta. But, 
as we have formerly seen that the Spartans were reckoned to 
belong to " the Pelasgic nation," it affords a strong collateral 
presumption of the Thracian origin of the Spartans, that Ly- 
curgus seems evidently to have been a Thracian name, 

*4 



136 ON THE ORIGIN 

him the rites which afterwards bore his name. 
These, with the kingdom, Tharopus transmitted 
to his son Oeagrus. Orpheus, the son of the latter, 
being instructed by him in the same orgies, greatly 
changed them; whence they received the name 
of Orphic*. It has been said, that the various 
accounts given of Bacchus by the Phenicians, 
Egyptians, and Thracians, and gathered from the 
poems ascribed to Orpheus, were woven into one 
fablet. We are assured by Pausanias, that there 
was a famous oracle of Bacchus in Thrace, to 
which the inhabitants of Macedonia resortedt. 
As Diana was worshipped by the Lvdians under 
the name of Anailis; wherever she had a temple, 
it was ordained that the Sacaea, or feast of Bac- 
chus, should be celebrated by men and women, 
in a state of ebriety, wearing a Scythian garb . 
The Lydians, it has been seen, were of Scythian 
lineage. 

Rudbeck apprehends that the northern feast of 
Yule had a reference to the history of Bacchus. 
As it appears that he is the same with the Egyp- 
tian Osiris, or the Sun, this feast having been ob- 
viously instituted to celebrate the return of this 
beneficent luminary, the idea is far from being 
improbable; especially as the sports retained at 



* Diod. Sic. lib. iv. c. 64s Schol. in Horn. II. £. v. 130. 
f Heyne, ubi sup. \ Bceotic. c. 30. p. 769. 

|| Strab. Geogr. lib. xi. p. 532. Pausan. lib. iii. c. 16. p. l 2^J. 
Hoffman, vo. Anaitis. 






OF THE GREEKS. 137 

this season are, in Scandinavia, still called Iule* 
bockens, and one species of them Blindebockens 9 
i. e. Blind man's buff, literally Blind Buck or Goat. 
Some, indeed, have derived the name of this feast 
from Gr.J*A-oc, as if this denoted a hymn sung in 
honour of Bacchus. But the term seems to have 
been appropriated to Ceres; and to have been 
borrowed from the first-fruits of grain offered to 
this goddess. For it primarily signifies, 3 M hand- 
ful of ears of corn." Hence those who carried the 
sacred things to Delos were called *OvKo<pofot-, as we 
learn from Servius on Virg. xi. v. 858. Hence 
Ceres herself had the name 'i«aw # . Whether there 
is any connexion between this and the northern 
name of the feast at the winter solstice, I shall not 
pretend to say t. 

The last part of the word Iulebockens deserves 
a little attention. Bacchus is frequently repre- 
sented as carried by a goat, and as accompanied 
by goats and by Satyrs, all characterised by hav- 
ing the faces and feet of this salacious animal t ; 
and there 9 can be no doubt that the Bacchanalia 
were celebrated with mummeries ||. As the wor- 
shippers imitated the poetical fictions concerning 
Bacchus, they put on fawn-skins; and personated 
Silenus, Pan, and the Satyrs, u exposing them- 
" selves in comical dresses and antick motions." 
Men, dressed like women, acted as if under the 

* Spanh. Observ. in Cailim, p. 649. f See above, p. 73, 74 
% Wachter, vo. Bock. \\ V. Gysar, Etym. Diet. Scott. Lang. 



133 OX T THE ORIGIN' 

power of intoxication *. Now, as the term bock, 
which is conjoined with lule, signifies a goat, also 
a buck; Rudbeck has made greater stretches of 
imagination, than in supposing that the sport thus 
designed might originally have had some relation 
to the orgies of Bacchus t. ) 



§ 20. Of Pluto , Hercules, the Muses, 
Deucalion, and Inachus. 

fThe name of Pluto has been derived from 
Gr. vhovTct;, riches, as he is supposed to possess all 
earthly things t; also from Heb. D '3, palat, evasit, 
in hithpahel, eripuit ||. Perhaps the Scandinavian 
etymon of the name is as plausible as either. 
This is from Goth, blot, sacrificium omentum, 
blot-a sacrificare, immolare diis profanis; hodie 
pro diris, et execrationibus, Gudm. Andreae; diris 
devovere, Hire. Hence Blot-gode, Pluto Deusj 
Verelius; Bluter, Rudbeck. 

As Pluto is denominated by Homer, and other 
Gr. writers, 'A'/hc, in the accusative 'AfAr; this de- 
signation has been view T ed as the same with Aides, 
Aiden, and Audin, of the Goths. They distin- 



* V. Potter's Antiq. II. p. 382, 383. 

f Atlantic. II. p. 146. 367—370. 

\ Cic. Nat. Deor. lib. ii. c. 26. Spanh. in Callim. 

fi V. ji oilman, in vo. 



OF THE GREEKS. 139 

guish the latter, as applied only to the god of the 
infernal regions, from Atin father, and from Odin*. 

By the Latins he was called Dis. This was , 
the name of an ancient western prince, who was 
one of the Titans. Caesar informs us that the 
Gauls boasted their descent from himt. Rudbeck, 
however, claims him as a Scandinavian deity. 

Minos and Rhadamanthus, because of their 
strictness in the dispensation of justice on earth, 
were represented as the deputies of Pluto in the 
lower regions. The last mentioned writer views 
Minos as a Scythian name; Goth, minnur, qui 
virilis est auctoritatis. He supposes his memory 
to be preserved in the designation, Minnurs brun^ 
given to a fountain near Upsal in Sweden, which 
he renders Minois fons; and deduces the name 
Rhadamanthus from Goth, radaman, rademan y 
consiliariiis, senatort. He refers to the testimony 
of Plato formerly quoted, in which he intimates 
that it was from the brazen tablets brought by the 
Hyperboreans to the Greeks, that they had their 
information with respect to these infernal judges ||. 

" The Germans relate, 5 ' says Tacitus, " that 
" Hercules was among them ; and, when going 
" into battle, they celebrate him as the first of 
" heroes." He also informs us, that the pillars 

* Atlantic. I. p. 727. II. p. 585. 

f De Bell. Gall. lib. vi. c. 18. V. Anc. Univ. Hist. vi. p. 40. 49. 

% Atlantic. I. p. 544,-546. || Ibid. I. p. 560, 561. 



240 ON THE ORIGIN 

of Hercules were sought by Drusus in the north*. 
There was an ancient city in Julia called Erkelens, 
by Latin writers Herculanum, or the castle of 
Hercules t. Aventinus observes, that the last 
of the kings of Germany, mentioned by Berosus, 
is Alemannus, surnamed Hercules, the founder of 
the Boii t. His military device was a lion, 
whence, it is said, he received his surname. For 
Schedius affirms that argle and aercle signify, ferus 
leo. For this assertion however I can discern no 
authority. 

The Gr. name 'H^ofSa* has been supposed to be 
compounded of >i?w and xxeV, qu. heroum gloria; 
and even deduced from 'H^ xmV, because he de- 
rived glory from the hatred of Juno, which some- 
what resembles the etymon of lucus, a grove, a 
non lucendo. The deductions from Germ, or 
Goth, have much more verisimilitude. Wach- 
ter views the name Hercules as formed from Germ. 
her, terribilis, and keule, lade, clavaj claiming 
support from the rule of interpretation formerly 
mentioned, that the name Ts explained by the sym- 
bol. Therefore, he says, he cannot part with this 
club. Rudbeck derives the term from Goth, her 
exercitus, and huUe caput. Verelius gives a si- 
milar sense to herkolle; Dux, scil. caput exercitus: 
and it may well be supposed, that the fables con- 
cerning Hercules originated from the history of 



* De Mor. Germ. c. 3. 34. f Wachter, vo. HerhuL 

t Ann. Boj. lib. 1. Sched. de Dis Germ. p. 473. 



OF THE GREEKS. 14<1 

some intrepid and victorious chieftain. Herhlaede 
is commonly used by Scandinavian writers to de- 
note military accoutrements; and herakled, in the 
Edda, signifies militariter armatus, belli dux. 
The good Rudbeck found no difficulty in deter- 
mining the spot where stood the famous pillars of 
Hercules. They are still marked, he assures us, 
by a rock which juts out into the ser in Holmia, 
bearing the name of Herkoll*. 

The^connexion of Hercules with the Scythian 
history was admitted by the Greeks. Those, who 
inhabited Pontus, as we learn from Herodotus, 
related that he came to the country afterwards 
possessed by the Scythians ; and that, from his 
intercourse with a monstrous woman of the dis- 
trict called Hylaea, were born Gel on us, Agathyr- 
sus, and Scytha the father of the Scythian mo- 
narch s t. This is plainly to say, that he was the 
ancestor of several Scythian nations. For the 
Geloni were of this description ; and most pro- 
bably the Agathyrsi, by some reckoned the same 
people who were afterwards denominated Picts t. 
We are also assured by Herodotus, that the Scy- 
thians gave divine honours to Hercules in the same 
degree as to Apollo, to the Celestial Venus, and 
to Mars ||. He does not mention him by any other 
name than that used by the Greeks. 



* Atlantic. I. p. 232. f Hist. lib. iv. c. 8,-10, 

% V. Hoffman, in vo. || Hist. lib. iv. c, 59, 



142 ON THE ORIGIN 

The fable concerning the Muses is to be view- 
ed as having originated either in Macedonia or 
in Thrace. At first there were only three, who 
were called " the heavenly Muses." Other six 
were added afterwards, who were designed " the 
" daughters of Jupiter *." Strabo acknowledges 
them to have been of Thracian, and of course of 
Scythian, origin ; observing that Pieria, Olympus, 
Pimpla, and Libethrum, were all in Thrace, al- 
though afterwards within the Macedonian terri- 
tories t. He also affirms, that the Thracians, 
the inhabitants of Boeotia, consecrated Helicon 
to the Muses t. " For," as he elsewhere says, " it 
" is reported, that at a certain period the Thra- 
" cians, and Pelasgi, and other barbarous nations, 
" took possession of Boeotia, doing violence to the 
u former inhabitants ||." 

Rudbeck is disposed to identify the three ori- 
ginal muses with the three virgins said, by Scal- 



* Pausan. Descr. Graec. lib. ix. p. 765. 

-J- Geogr. lib. x. p. 471. | Ibid, also lib. ix. p. 410. ' 

|| E'lMTM 5g, OTl TiiV BoiUTlOCV TfliyTJJV ITTUKHTX)) 7TQTI Q^ClKii;, fiixs-d- 

jctivdi rcifi Baarevg, xul Tl'zXxtryoi, xxt aXXoi (&d(&x£6u Geogr. p. 

410. This is an important passage, as affording a strong con- 
firmation of what I have endeavoured to prove in the preceding 
part of this dissertation. Here Strabo so closely conjoins the 
Pelasgi with the Thracians- as clearly to shew, if not a full con- 
viction that they were originally from the same stock, yet a per- 
suasion, common to him with his predecessors, that, in an early 
age, they had been near neighbours, and had been intimately 
associated in the invasions made in Greece. 



OF THE GREKS. 143 

die writers, to have emerged from the sea which 
lies under the pole *. But these are rather to be 
viewed as the Fates. The fable of the Muses 
seems to be interwoven, in the Edda, with the 
history of Heimdal or Mercury ; as he is " the 
" son of nine virgins, who are sisters t." Our 
worthy northern etymologist has no hesitation in 
claiming both Pieria and Helicon as good Goth, 
words ; deriving Pieria from berg a mountain, 
and the latter from helig sanctus, and hone foe- 
mina, as signifying holy or consecrated women. 
He mentions Helgehonsoo, " the island of the 
" sacred Muses," and Helighons Jiaell, Heliconis 
mons, as places perfectly well known to the Scan- 
dinavians of his own age t. 

The accounts, given by Greek writers, of the 
flood under Deucalion, have caused a consider- 
able degree of perplexity to those of latter times. 
They have been at a loss to determine, whether 
this should be viewed as the same with the uni- 
versal deluge, or as merely a topical inundation. 
On the whole it seems most probable, that there 
had been a partial flood in Thessaly, in an early 
era ; especially as we have similar accounts as to 
another, which is said to have desolated Boeotia 
under Ogyges. But while this is admitted, we 



Atlantic. II. p. 86. f v - Mallet, II. p. 82. 

X Atlantic. I. p. 481. 



144 ON THE ORIGIN 

have every reason to believe, that the history of 
these inundations was, in the lapse of ages, con- 
founded with the traditions still extant concern- 
ing the universal deluge. These traditions perva- 
ded the most of the nations - y and it is evident, 
from the language of Lucian, that they were pre- 
served in astonishing distinctness by the Greeks 
themselves. He says that, according to the tra- 
ditions, as great showers fell, the earth poured 
forth a vast quantity of water ; that the first race 
of men, except Deucalion, with his sons and their 
wives, totally perished because of their wicked- 
ness ; that they were preserved in a great ark or 
chest, into which, after Deucalion, entered swine, 
horses, serpents, and all other creatures which 
live on the earth, by pairs ; that they did him no 
hurt, the gods creating a great friendship among 
them, &c. * Plutarch takes notice of a singu- 
lar trait of the original history. " Mycologists 
" relate, that a dove, sent forth from the ark, 
" brought to Deucalion certain intelligence of 
" the continuance of the storm by its re-entrance, 
" and of its cessation by flight t." It has been 
observed by the learned Bryant as a remarkable 
circumstance, that as the ship or boat, carried 
about in the celebration of the ancient mysteries, 



* De Syria Dea, p. 1060. 

T Mep civ pvQoXoyu ru Aivx.schiwi tpxn stt^fSgau he tjjs hd^ctr-oc 
*<pttju.hw i ^r^uux yinrQett, xuuvvos f«v, il<ru 5T«A<v iyovopinr. De 
Solertia Animalium, Oper. II. p. 968. 



OF THE GREEKS. 145 

in commemoration of the deluge, was called Baris; 
this, according to Nicolas Damascenus, was the 
very name of the mountain on which the ark of 
Noah rested*. The boat, in which Charon trans- 
ported the souls of the deceased over Styx, had 
the same designation t. 

He, whose history is thus confounded with that 
of Noah, is designed by Lucian u Deucalion the 
" Scythian." He is said to have been the son of 
Prometheus, the son of Japetus. Hence it is evi- 
dent that the posterity of Japhet, in " the isles 
" of the Gentiles," ascribed to his grandson the 
wonderful deliverance of which he had himself 
participated, the knowledge of which had been 
imparted to their ancestors by him or by his sons. 
Plutarch indeed affirms, that his countrymen had 
their religious instructions from this Scythian, in 
connexion with another of the same race. " The 
" ancient Ion consecrated to the gods the Athe- 
" nians, and Deucalion almost all the Greeks, 
u by vows, and oaths, and prophecies, and omens ; 
" giving them an interest in divine things both 
" by hope and by fear t." 

It being acknowledged that Deucalion was a 
Scythian, need we wonder that Rudbeck should 



* V. Beloe's Herodot. II. p. 328. 
f Diodor. Sicul. lib. i. c. 96. p. 108. 

% lav 6 7rxXccio$ Afavcttag, kxi AevfcuMuv EXfyvccg opw rot 7rctvru? 
KaQas-lurxv, riftcc?? h ogxo*?, 2s pctvrivpctri xec) Qwetig, ly.7rx6u S 7r(oq r* 
4itx h' iXirfim ap* k») q&m x*r*rfootrn$. Adv. Colot. II. p. 1 125. 

k 



146 ON THE ORIGIN 

trace his name to the language of Scandinavia ? 
He views it as in its simple form Daeffjcalle, from 
Goth daeffi or daeu\ humidus, aqueus, and kalle 
vir, qu. " he who was saved by water." The 
name of Pyrrha, the wife of Deucalion, he de- 
rives from burr a ) byra^ mater, as denoting the 
mother of the new world *. 

The kingdom of Argos is said to have been 
founded by Inachus, A. M. 2148, who has been 
viewed by some writers as contemporary with 
Abraham t, although others fix his reign about 
the time of the Exodus. The highest antiquity was 
ascribed to him. For " the barbarous Pelasgi," 
as the learned Dr Gillies has remarked, " vene- 
u rated Inachus as their founder t." He is said 
to have been the son of Oceanus and Tethvs. 
His daughter 7o, according to Herodotus, was 
ravished by some Phenicians ||. We have seen 
that, in fabulous history, the flood of Deuca- 
lion, a later personage, is confounded with the 
universal deluge. It might, with fully as much 
reason, be supposed that the name of Noah had 
been disguised under that oi Inach-us ; especially 
as, according to the mythological accounts, he is 
represented as a river, and his territory is said to 
have been swept away by Neptune § . 



* A tlantic. II. p. 385. f Ana Univ. Hist. VI. p. 152. 

% Mist. Greece, J. p. 4. || Hist. lib. i. c. 1. 

§ Pausan. lib. ii. c. 15. p. 141, 145. 



OF THE GREEKS. 147 

Consonant to this mythological account, is that 
given by the poets of his daughter Io. Jupiter, it 
is said, being enamoured of her, transformed her 
into a cow, that he might conceal his infidelity from 
Juno*. Some writers make her the daughter of 
Inachus, a river in the Cimmerian Bosphorus. 
Dionysius Periegeta transfers it to the Bosphorus 
of Thrace t. It may be observed, however, that 
in either case it was in the territories of the Scy- 
thians. Hence it seems probable, that the fable 
originated with them. 

The Gothic Scalds acknowledge Jonakoer as 
the father of Io or Ius. This name, Rudbeck 
asserts, would be pronounced by the Greeks and 
Latins lonachus or Inachus. It is compounded, 
he says, of Ion or lona terra, and koer, also ko 9 
vacca ; it being pretended that his daughter was 
converted into a cow t. 

Zamolxis, who was born among the Getae, and 
after his death worshipped by the Thracians, is 
said to have been the disciple and servant of Py- 
thagoras. Laertius, in his Preface to the Lives 
of the Philosophers, pretends that Zamolxis learn- 
ed philosophy from him; wishing it to appear 
that the Thracians were indebted for their know- 
ledge to the Greeks. Some have supposed, that 
there were two persons of the name of Zamolxis. 



* V. Hoffman, vo. Io. f V. Cellar. Geogr. I. p. 409. 

X Atlantic. II. p. 478. 

k2 



14$ ON THE ORIGIN 

But Herodotus, having said that, according to 
the account which he had received , from the 
Greeks, this Scythian was the servant of the sage, 
subjoins, that he was persuaded that Zamolxis 
had lived many years before Pythagoras *• It is 
also asserted by Hermippus, that Pythagoras him- 
self borrowed many things from the Thracianst. ^ 



§ 21. The Romans from the same stock with 
the Greeks. 

(This Dissertation having far exceeded the li- 
mits designed, it would be improper to enlarge it 
by any particular discussion as to the origin of 
the Romans. Nor does this seem necessary ; it 
being generally admitted, that the Latin language 
is merely the Aeolic dialect of the Greek. This 
position, however, must be received with the fol- 
lowing limitations ; that in many instances it is 
considerably varied, and that it exhibits some 
terms in a more rude form than that in which 
they appear in Gi\, as indicating immediate de- 
rivation from a cognate language far less refined. 
It has been clearly proved, not only that the ex- 
tensive district of Italy called Magna Graecia, as 
well as Latium, was peopled by Arcadians ; but 
that the country, lying to the north of the Appe- 

* Hist. lib. iv. c. 96. f V. Hoffman. Lex. vo. Zamolxis. 



OF THE GREEKS. 149 

nines, and opposite to Illyricum, was inhabited 
by Scythians from that region *. Dionysius of Ha- 
licarnassus enumerates four Greek colonies which 
came into Italy ; those called Aborigines, under 
Oenotrus from Arcadia, the Pelasgic colony 
from Aemonia or Thessaly, a second Arcadian 
colony under Evander, and those whom Hercules 
carried with him from Peloponnesus, who settled 
upon the Capitoline Hill t. All these were of 
course Pelasgi. To these he adds the Trojan 
colony, celebrated by Roman writers more than 
all the rest. The very learned Bochart was 
disposed to deny that any such colony ever enter- 
ed Italy ; because he could discern no affinity be- 
tween the language of the Romans and the slen- 
der remains of that which was spoken in Phry- 
gia t* If it be admitted that the Trojans did 
colonize any part of Italy, they must necessarily 
be viewed as originally Scythians. 

The Etrurians, it is said, were a Lydian co- 
lony ||. The same historian, who asserts this, 
when speaking of the temple of the Carian Jove 
at Mylassa, informs us that the Lydians and 
Mysians were admitted to the privileges of this 
sacred place, as having had a common origin. 
For, according to their account, Lydus, Mysus, 
and Cares, were brothers § . The superiority of the 

* V. Pinkerton's Dissert, p. 79,-82. 

f Antiq. Rom. lib. i. p. 25. — 27. t Epist. de Aenea, p. 19, 20. 

|) Herod, lib. i. c. 7. § Ibid. c. 171. 



150 ON^THE ORIGIN 

Etrurians in the fine arts is accounted for from 
the intercourse which the Lydians Jiad, before 
their migration to Italy, with the Assyrians of 
Cappadocia. v It has been asserted that the Etrus- 
can letters are evidently, from their form, of Phe- 
nician origin. But undoubtedly they far more 
nearly resemble the ancient Greek. The Pelasgi, 
according to Solinus, were the first who brought 
letters into Italy *. It has been already proved, 
that they were not originally Phenicians. We 
have also seen, that all the evidence, which has 
been transmitted from an era so remote, goes to 
shew that they were Thracians or Scythians. As 
it is admitted that they colonized Etruria be- 
fore Cadmus came into Greece, they must have 
been strangers to the Phenician alphabet. 

The Romans themselves seem to have had an 
ancient, though vague, tradition concerning their 
Scythian origin. This they blended with another, 
which regarded the visit paid to their country by 
Hercules. Solinus, having mentioned Palantium, 
afterwards called the Palatine Mount in Rome, 
says ; " By some it is supposed that it took its 
" name from Palanto the daughter of Hyperbo- 
* reus, whom Hercules seems to have deflowered 
" in that place t." Similar is the testimony of 



* Tyrrhenus a Tyrrheno rege Lydiae, Agillam a Pelas- 

gis qui primi in Latium literas intulerant. Polyhist. p. 63, 54. 

f — A Palanto Hyperborei filia, quam Hercules ibi com- 
prcssisse visus est, nomen monti adoptatum. Ibhl. c. i. p. 9. 



OF THE GREEKS, 151 

Festus ; " There dwelt Palanto, the daughter of 
" Hyperboreus, who bore Latinus by Hercules *." 
There are still some vestiges of the Scythian 
origin of the Etrurians. Suetonius relates, in 
his life of Augustus, that " the letter C being 
" struck off by lightning from the inscription on 
" his statue, this response was given, that he had 
" only a hundred days to live, which was the 
" number pointed out by the deficient letter ; 
" but that he should be afterw/ards reckoned 
u among the gods, because Aesar, which forms 
" the remaining part of the name of Caesar, is in 
" the Etruscan language the denomination of 
<c God t." Hence the learned Keysler infers, 
that the Etrurians were a branch from the com- 
mon Scythian stock from which the Germans 
had sprung t. In the Goth, language As, Aes, 
Aesus, is the name of Odin, or by way of distinc- 
tion that of God. In the plural it is Asar, and 
Aesir. Hire thinks that the Etruscan term should 
have been rendered Dii\\. That accurate philolo- 
gist Hesychius affords sufficient ground for this 
remark § . He also mentions Aea as, in the Tuscan 
language, denoting the goddess Rhea^". This 

* Alii quod ibi Hyperborei filia Patento habitaverit, quae 
ex Hercule Latinum peperit. Auct. Lat. Ling. col. 355. 

f Aesar, id est, reliqua pars e Caesaris nomine Etrusca lin- 
gua Deus vocatur. Vit. Aug. c. 97. 

% Antiq. Septentr. p. 140. Sched. de Dis German, p. 108. 

H Gloss. Suio-Goth. vo. As. § Ala-e}, 9-sei vtto Tvfotav. 

^ As#, 'Peat V7ra Tvjtfavan 



152 ON THE ORIGIN 

name is, by the Scalds, given to Diana, who is 
identified with Rhea. The Etrurians ,had twelve 
Lucumones, also called kings, among whom one 
presided *. These have been viewed as the same 
with the Lagmen of the Gothic nations t. 

Servius has preserved a fragment of M. Portius 
Cato, concerning the language and ancient colo- 
nies of the Etruscans, in which he says that the 
arrival of the Etruscans, who held Pisa, had not 
been discovered by him, but that, after compre- 
hending their language, he had found that Pisa 
had been built by Tracho, a descendant of Tyrr- 
henus; as certain Teutones, who spoke Greek, had 
possessed the same country before them t.) 

* Serv. in Virg. Aen. lib. viii. 

T The term is thus explained by Ihre; Lagman, Judex 
provincialis, summae apud veteres dignationis, quippe qui non 
judex tantum erat in conventibus publicis, sed etiam coram 
Rege tribunitiam potestatem exercuit. — Oportet, titulum hunc 
valde esse antiquum, si Lucumones illi, quos apud Tuscos XII. 

fuisse, tradit Servius, cum hisce nostris Lagmannis aliquid 

affinitatis habuisse, ut volunt multi, censendi sunt. 

J Cato originum qui Pisas tenuerint adventum Etrus- 

corum negat sibi compertum, sed inveniri Trachonem Tyrrheno 
oriundum, postquam eorundem sermonem ceperat, Pisas con- 
didisse, cum ante regionem eandem Teutones quidam Graece 
loquentes possederint. Serv. in Aen. lib. x. 



HERMES SCYTHICUS: 



INTRODUCTION. 



Many learned writers, in former ages, have deduced Go- 
thic words from the Greek, or from the Latin, language. 
This mode of derivation, however, has not only excited a 
smile at their expence, but has in part contributed to sub- 
ject the science of etymology in general to ridicule. It has 
with good reason been deemed inconceivable, that the Go- 
thic tribes should borrow from the Greeks, with whom, 
during the historical age at least, they had scarcely any in- 
tercourse. Nor were they better acquainted with the Latins, 
till they inundated and subdued the Roman empire. But it 
is evident, from the invaluable remains of Ulphilas's version 
of the Scriptures, that, before this era, the Gothic language 
had all its distinguishing characters : and it is equally cer- 
tain, that, in a posterior age, most of the languages of the 
west of Europe received their modern forms from that of 
their conquerors. 

This mode of derivation being justly scouted, a query na- 
turally occurs to the mind : " As a remarkable affinity has 
been observed between the Gothic, and the Greek and 
Latin languages, may not the former idea be inverted ; is 
there not a possibility that the languages of Greece and Italy 
may have originated from the ancient Scythian ?" 

A 



a INTRODUCTION. 

That all these had at least a common fountain, will appear 
unquestionable to any one who will be at the trouble to insti- 
tute a fair and dispassionate inquiry. The determination of 
this question should not rest, indeed, on the occasional occur- 
rence of terms which are extremely similar in form, though 
they should be perfectly analogous in signification. This 
coincidence, even in languages which have no radical affinity, 
may frequently arise from circumstances that are merely ac- 
cidental. 

The particles, or " winged words," as they have been de- 
nominated, are preferred in the proof of this affinity for se- 
veral reasons. These are generally of the highest antiquity ; 
most of them having received their established form and 
acceptation in an age prior to that of history. They are 
also more permanent than most other terms; being con- 
stantly in use, entering into the composition of many other 
words, constituting an essential part of every regular lan- 
guage, and determining the meaning of every phrase that is 
employed to express our thoughts. They are also least likely 
to be introduced into another language ; because, from the 
various and nice shades of signification which they assume, 
tbey are far more unintelligible to foreigners than the mere 
names of things or of actions : and although the latter, from 
vicinity or occasional intercourse, are frequently adopted, 
this is rarely the case as to the particles ; because the adop- 
tion of these would produce an important change in the very 
structure of a language which has been previously formed 

It might scarcely be reckoned a sufficient proof of affinity, 
although a Gothic particle were found to correspond with 
one resembling it in Gr. or Lat. in a single instance, or in a 
signification merely secondary or oblique. Later philolo- 
gists have been at pains, as far as possible, to discover the 
pioper and primary sense of each of these ; and from this 
to distinguish those significations which are only of a de- 
pendent character. This is undoubtedly the proper mode 



INTRODUCTION. o 

of investigation ; as thus alone can we expect to find the 
idea originally attached to the term. In this comparison, 
therefore, I have generally followed the plan observed by 
Professor Dunbar in that very useful work, his Greek Ex- 
ercises ; endeavouring to trace the particles through their dif- 
ferent senses, with quotations from Greek writers, to which 
are subjoined correspondent illustrations from the Moeso- 
Gothic and other northern languages. From this compa- 
rative view, 1 trust, it will appear, that, in various instances, 
there is a striking analogy, not only in the derivative, but in 
the primary, significations. 

Before entering upon the proof of our hypothesis, per- 
haps it ought to be observed, that, in order to discover 
whether the similarity between terms, in different languages, 
be merely accidental, there are two tests especially, to which 
the assimilated term ought to be subjected. The first is, 
that, if really allied, it will retain its family likeness in the 
various modifications in which it occurs, particularly in a 
composite state. In the Codex Argenteus, indeed, various 
terms occur, which are evidently borrowed from the original ; 
because the translator found no correspondent words in the 
vernacular language. This must always happen, where new 
and abstract ideas are introduced, or allusions are made to 
objects, or customs, previously unknown to the people for 
whose use the version is designed. This observation, how- 
ever, is not applicable to mere particles. The second rule 
of investigation is, that, if a term be used in the same sense, 
or in one nearly allied, in the cognate dialects, there is every 
reason to believe that it is an original term in the language 
in which it occurs ; and of consequence, that, as far as the 
evidence of one word can go, there is a radical affinity be- 
tween this language and the other to which the synonyme be- 
longs, and with which the comparison is instituted. It is by 
no means asserted that the inverse of this rule will invariably 
hold ; for often, though a particular term, and its derivatives, 

A 2 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

may have been diffused through a kindred dialect, the proofs 
of this may be wanting from the scarcity of memorials. 

The most ancient proofs, referred to in this inquiry, are 
from the justly celebrated version of Ulphilas, Bishop of the 
Moeso-Goths. The year 3t>0 is the latest date assigned to 
this version. Many learned writers, however, have affirmed 
that it was made in the reign of Constantine the Great. It 
is much to be regretted, that all that remains of the labours 
of Uiphilas, is his version of the four Gospels, ot which 
nearly one half has been lost, besides some fragments of his 
translation of the Epistle to the Romans. Our proofs from 
the Moeso- Gothic are thus extremely limited. 

It is unquestionable, that the Anglo-Saxon is merely a daugh- 
ter of the ancient Gothic. It was introduced into England 
about the year 450, or nearly a century after the date of the 
version ol Ulphilas. We have, indeed, no A. Sax. writer 
older than Caedmon, who flourished about three centuries 
later than the Bishop of Moesia. But so close is the affi- 
nity of these two languages, that the learned Hickes included 
both in the same Grammar. 

The Alemannic or Franco-Theotisc has the next claim in 
point of antiquity. But of this there are no memorials pre- 
vious to the reign of Charlemagne. It is well known, that 
the lslandic is the oldest and purest dialect of the Gothic, 
that still exists as a living language. This, in its more an- 
cient form, has been called the Runic, from the character in 
which it was written. In this language Saemund the Wht 
wrote the fc^dda, which bears his name, towards the close of 
the eleventh century. To the lslandic, the Suio-Gothic, 
including the ancient language of Sweden, is very nearly 
allied. These are the sources from which the proofs of 
affinity are principally derived. 



Book l— of prepositions. 



CHAP. I — Of »a^i, 'AA and v A«v. 

Gr. 'AftQt ; Lat. Amb-, am-. 

A his particle occurs in Lat. a/ra&arvalia, ambages, amb- 
urbium, ambire, ambesus, amplecU, &c. 

It is conjectured, that the Gr. preposition has been formed 
from the verb eifixu or upa, to collect together, to embrace or 
grasp, by the addition of the termination (pi, or by the inser- 
tion of the letter <p. The supposition would have had more 
probability, had this particle been confined to the Gr., or 
extended only to the Lat language. But, as the same word 
is found, although varied, in almost all the Goth, dialects, it 
may rather be supposed that the Greeks received it from 
the Scythians, or that it was transmitted to them from com- 
mon progenitors. 

Except in some radical and very ancient words, we can 
scarcely trace any resemblance between the languages of the 
Celts and Goths. This particle, however, undoubtedly ap- 
pears, in its most simple form, in the ancient Celtic. Box- 
horn gives am, amb, and amba, as equivalent to Lat. cir- 
cum ; and am is the preposition which the Welsh still use in 
this sense. As signifying round about, it occurs in a great 
many compounds; as in amzd, bordering all round ; amadvyw, 
alive on all sides ; amair, a round about word ; amm, a noise 
on all sides; «m6orthi, to carry about; ambwl, blunt all 
round, &c. Owen's Diet. It is singular, that, although the 



O OF PREPOSITIONS. 

allied synonyme of up$i is found in almost all the cognate 
dialects, it should disappear in that of the Moeso-Goths. 

ApQi has been explained, 1 . As conveying the general idea 
of being about, or round a place or object. 2. As marking 
time, but not definitely. 3. In the sense of about or concern- 
ing. 4. As signifying, on account of. 

1. About, or round, a place or object. This maybe 
viewed as the primary sense of the Gr. term. 'ApQt x-oXios 
oixSe-t, circa urbeni habitant; Herodot. The A.S. syno- 
nyme occurs very frequently, both in its simple and com- 
pound state, in the form of emb, ymb, ymbe, or umb. i They, 
ymbe Tyre and Sidone, about Tyre and Sidon — came unto 
him ;' Mar. 3. 8. ' Ye shall go, ymb tha burh, round about 
the city ;' Josh. 6. 3. * The multitude sat, ymbe hine, 
about him ;' Mar. 3. 32. Embe-gan signifies circumire, 
corresponding, not only in meaning, but in form, to Gr. kf 
(p&uiviiv, Lat. ambire. Hence the phrase embegang don, to 
make a procession. Sometimes, while the general sense of 
surrounding is retained, the preposition denotes still closer 
approximation ; as when one body actually touches, or presses 
upon, another. ' The same John had, fellen gyrdel embe 
hifs kndenu, a leathern girdle about his loins ;' Matt. 3. 4. 
Ymb-caefed, circumamictus ; ymb-bindan, circumcingere ; 
ymb-clyppan, amplecti ; emb-snydan, circumcidere. 

Bi, signifying circum, appears in Alem. in a compound 
form; as bi-stuaniun, circumdiderunt, Otfrid; literally, stood 
round. In Franc, pi is used ; as pi mir, circa me ; Gloss. 
Mons. But umbi is the preposition commonly used in this 
sense in Alem. ; as in umbi-cange circuitum ; umbi-cirh, cir- 
culum ; umbi-tirg, circumcirca ; umbi-choran, circumdu- 
cere ; umbi-ringen, complecti, from the preposition and ring 
circulus, aunulus ; (in modern Germ, umb-ringen, circum- 
dare ;) umbiuutrft, orbis terrae, from umbi and uuerban ire. 
Gisak managa menigi umbi sih. ' He saw great multitudes 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 7 

about him ;' Tatian. Hence the phrase, Mit umbiolozenen 
armen, brachiorum amplexibus. 

I am almost inclined to think, that Moes.G. bi, circum, 
be in A.S. embe, ymbe, and bi in Alem. umbi, point out the 
original form of <p< in Gr. xftQt, whatever may have been the 
origin of the first syllable. 

Um retains this sense in Germ., as in um-schzveif, amba- 
ges ; um-schzceifen, ire per ambages, nm-beren redire. It 
seems highly probable, indeed, that Lat. ambages itself 
is originally a Scythian or Gothic term. It is explained, 
' a circuit of wordes : a tale drawen in length ;' Cooper's 
Thesaur. But at first sight this evidently appears to be only 
a secondary sense. The term might have originally sig- 
nified a circuitous course. It seems in fact, wheu view- 
ed without the Lat. termination, to be radically the same 
with Germ, um-zveg, 'a way about,' Ludwig. Teut. om- 
zwgh diverticulum, anfractus, viae flexus ; om-zveghen am- 
bages, verborum circuitus ; Kilian. 

Su.G. om, ym, Isl. om, um, have a similar use. Thus 
Su.G. zvara om sig is cavere; Isl. vel om sik, ad rem atten- 
tus, literally, looking well round himself ; sitia um to lay 
snares, whence um-saatr, snares, also a siege. Kongr dual- 
dust i umsatinne ; Rex in obsidione diu moratus est. Um~ 
bulling dyra, omanientum circum januam ; um-hverfls, (Svv. 
om-liweifs) circum, circa; um-merki, limites, q. bounda- 
ries surrounding ; um-renningar, ch cumcursitantes ; urn- 
da, (Sw. om-sening) circumspectio ; um-skygna, circum- 
spicere ; um-turna (Svv. om-tornera) circum vol vere ; um- 
flotid land, insula, that is, land on all sides surrounded, or 
floated by water ; um-skuru, circumcisio ; um-vinde, inver- 
sus- Su.G. om-ga, conversari, proprie circumire ; om- 
lizcerfzca, circumdare (A.S. ymbe-hweorfan, id.) om-szcep, 
ambages, (A.S. ymb-szcape, id. from ymb-swapan, circum- 
dare). 

I am convinced that Isl. um, as originally signifying cif- 

a4 



8 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

cum, is the same with Su.G. om, ym, which lhre defines as 
a particle denoting variation. It has probably received this 
sense in allusion to objects which still shift their place, 
or are constantly turning round. Hence Isl. urns, also 
ymser, singuli et varii per vices, nunc hie, nunc alter ; yrnist 
alternatim ; Su.G. ymsa, oemsa, alternare, reciprocare ; 
ymska, commutare, variare. One ancient term is still re- 
tained in some of the northern counties of Scotland, which 
indicates this affinity. This is Emmis or Immis, variable ; 
applied to weather, soil, seed, &c. V. Etymological Dic- 
tionary, vo. Emmis. 

2. As marking time, but not definitely. 'Aptps r* kt^y,- 
k.ovrcc fti crou ovtos, Quuui annos esses natus circiter quinqua- 
ginta; Lucian. A.S. Tha embe tha endlyftan tide he ut- 
eode; " And about the eleventh hour he went out ;" Matt. 
20. 6. also in verses 3. and 5. Ymbe tha nygothan tid ; 
' about the ninth hour ;' Matt. 27. 46. Ymb thaes daeges 
uppryne ; ' About the dawn of day;' Bed. Hist. p. 576. 

Su.G. om, in like maimer, denotes time. Om dagen, de 
die ; om en stund, post aliquod tempus ; lhre. Germ, um 
is also commonly used in the same sense. L m die mittasrs- 
zeit, about noon. Um drey uhr nachmittags, at, or about, 
three o'clock in the afternoon. Um ostcrn, about Easter ; 
Ludwks. 

o 

3. Used in a figurative sense, as signifying concerning. 
'ApQl ^s t? B-xvciTa) »vns £405 ht^i^stm >*ys, De ejus morte 
duplex vulgatur fama; Herodot. The A.S. preposition 
corresponds. Tha hi umbe other thing gesprecon, l Thev 
spoke about other things;' Chron. Sax. p. I To. 

It has been observed that *p$i, with the verb -.«;, signi- 
fies to be employed about. .Auq> t x^Zrx jnw, ' They were em- 
ployed about these;' Dionys. Hal. Ymb is used in the very 
same manner. Beon ymb, esse circa, occupari circa, incum- 



OF PREPOSITIONS. Q 

bere, studere, nieditari. Beon ymb meeting, occupari lec- 
tione. Ymb an beon, circa unum meditari. Ymb that an 
beon, id solum meditari, to meditate, or be about, or con- 
cerning, that only ; Serm. ap. Lye. Gehyrian ymb, to hear 
about ; Somn. 

Su.G. tola om en, de aliquo loqui. Germ, um has the 
same signification. Er bemuhet sich hefftig um dasselbe ; 
He is vehemently concerned about it ; Ludwig. 

4. On account of. 'A^fp' c ea^» ^dy^^ct^ Propter Helenam 
pugnare, vel Helenae causa. Thus in Germ. Um Gottes 
willen, propter amorem Dei ; Wachter. Waram, used ad- 
verbially, wherefore. 

Gr. 3 Avx. 

Lennep and, Professor Dunbar seem to have given a just 
view of this preposition, in explaining it as denoting motion 
or pressure upwards, or motion in a superior place ; and thus, 
as exactly corresponding, to ocva supra. It indeed conveys 
the idea of retrogression. But this seems to be only a se- 
condary sense ; and perhaps this use of it may be always re- 
solved into the primary signification of progress upwards. 
Thus, the phrase, used by Xenophon, uva ra. i^ irkecvZrfai, 
1 to wander up and down/ or c over the mountains,' pri- 
marily suggests the idea of ascent ; because we can enter 
a mountainous tract only by rising. This also gives the 
original idea conveyed by the phrase which Herodotus uses, 
ma. 7roTXfth flrAsm, adversus flumen navigare. The particle 
is here explained as signifying against, because the naviga- 
tors sailed up the river ; whence the current opposed them in 
their course, or rather, their vessels opposed the current. 

Lennep derives it from the old verb £v&> which, he says, 
' remains in that sense in which its derivative is wont to be 
used/ He most probably refers to its meaning as render- 



10 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

ed by Lat. perago. For he adds that *t» c seems to denote 
that motion by which one presses upwards ;' Etymologicum, 
p. 1S8. Mr Bonar, in his very ingenious Disquisitions on 
the Greek Prepositions, deduces it from an adjective suppo- 
sed to have been formed from this verb. 

It is fully as probable, however, that the Gr. preposition 
is allied to the Goth, verb an-a, sensibus ferri sine ratione, 
gradi, procedere ; apparently implying the idea of violence 
or precipitancy. V. Gudmundi Andr. Lex. Islandic. p. 1 1, 
12. 

Gr. «v«, according to the explanation given above, as go- 
verning the accusative, is said, 1 . To denote place, as respect- 
ing the motion of a body pressing upwards. 2. To be used 
in the sense of through or over. 3. To be applied to time. 
4. To numbers, taken distributively. 5. As governing the 
dative, it is understood to signify elevation ; corresponding 
to Eng. on, upon. 

1 . In relation to place, it denotes the motion of a body 
pressing upzcards, 

—————— 'Y'-f-oj ota^xg 

G>*jxiv «v« ftvgixrii). Homer. 

' Raising them aloft from himself, he placed them on a 
tamarisk.' 

The Moes.G. preposition has the very same form, and is 
used precisely in the same sense. Gatimrada razn cin a no 
staina ; l He built his house on a rock ;' Matt. ?• 2J-. The 
rock, staina, is the point from which the elevation commen- 
ces ; ana denotes the elevation itself, as connected with the 
verb signifying erection. The preposition used in the ori- 
ginal is Itti. But it affords a proof, that Ulphilas did not 
servilely imitate the language from which he translated, that 
we find him frequently disregarding the preposition which 
most nearly resembles that occurring in the Gr., and using 



OF prepositions! 11 

another similar in signification, although totally different in 
form. 

Anaaiiik jah thata ana alia ; ' He added this above all ;' 
Luk. 3. 20. The verb is formed from the preposition 
ana, and auk-an to increase, to add, to eke ; and here the 
preposition is used both simply, and in its composite state. 
It sometimes denotes addition as to height. ' Can any of 
you, anaaukan ana wahstm seinam alleina aina, add to his 
stature one cubit' or eln? Matt. 7. 27. (Leg. wahstu, as in 
Ulphil. Illustrat. p. 12.) that is, raise himself, or rise, a cubit 
higher. Thus, in the preceding phrase, Herod is represent- 
ed as accumulating guilt, or as adding to a heap. The 
same phraseology occurs in Luk. 20. 11. 12. Anaauk sand- 
jan antharan skalk ; i Again he sent another servant ;' 
literally, ' he added to send,' or ' in sending.' 

This preposition is applied to the growth of fruits, which 
are said to be on a tree, either because the tree, its branches, 
and buds, spring upwards; or in relation to the earth, above 
which the tree is elevated. f Seeing a fig-tree, he came if 
happily he might find any thing, anna imma, upon it. He 
found nothing, anaimma, upon it but leaves ;' Mar. 11. IS. 
On is the A. S. preposition, which is used as equivalent to 
Moes.G. ana, and must undoubtedly be viewed as a modi- 
fication of the same term. 

Alem. ana, in composition, conveys the idea of pressing 
upwards; as, ana-thehan accrescere, explained by Germ. 
aufzvachsen, to grow, or zvax, up. Germ, an, indeed, re- 
tains this sense : as, berg an, up hill. Alem. ana-hlauffen, 
incurrere ; q. to run, or leap, upon ; ana-leckan imponere, to 
lay upon ; ana-standan, and ana-uuellen, insurgere, to rise 
up* It occurs also as denoting motion backwards. Ana- 
wentit sih, revertitur ; ana-uuert, iterum. 

It ought, perhaps, to be mentioned here, that Germ, an 
denotes origin or principle. Hence it is applied to prede- 
cessors. Aene avus, anen avi, majores, aene avia. Now, 



12 9>F PREPOSITIONS. 

what is ancestry, but that line which we trace up f or back- 
wards? A.S. on signifies super. ' It shall be a boil, on 
thinum breoste, super pectore tuo, on thy breast ;' Ex. 9. 10. 
that is, rising above the breast. On-elan, to anoint, that is, 
to put oil upon one ; which, by the way, gives the true origin 
of the old Eng. word, that has so much perplexed the com- 
mentators on Shakspeare, unaneled. For it seems exactly- 
synonymous with unanointed. On-feallan to rush, or fall, 
upon ; on-haebban, attollere, to heave up ; on-timbrian, inae- 
dificare, corresponding to Moes.G. gatimbrian ana quoted 
above. 

An does not occur so frequently in the Scandinavian dia- 
lects. We find it, however, in composition ; as in Isl. an- 
fong, that part of a ship which rises above the water, from 
an above, and perhaps fang, any sort of wooden materials : 
an-marki, a disgrace, q. a mark set on a person ; an-ladi, vec- 
tura, what is laden on or above; an-nes, terrarum extremitates 
in mare procurrentes, a ness, nose, or promontory, the prefix- 
denoting elevation or extension. V. Verelii Ind. 

Su.G. an-fall incursio, the act of falling on ; an-nama. 
to receive, q. to take up, analogous to antaga, also taga an. 
id. ; an-foera, to conduct, referring to an army, to lead up 
or on ; an-gripa, to set upon. Sw. an-hang, a party, that 
is, those who adhere, or hang on, whence an-hangare an ad- 
herent ; an-saetta, to set upon. 

2. 'Av«, in relation to place, also signifies through on 
Xa^ov uv vMivrett, per locum sylvosum ; Odyss. 'a»* t« «p 
<rKi$xvyv/*ivoi, palantes per montes ; Plutarch. 

Moes.G. ana has the same signification. < He entered 
into a ship, jah quam ana fera Magdalan, and came into 
the parts of Magdala ;' Mar. 8. 10. that is, having landed, 
he passed through, or up through, these parts. 

Manage! anatramp mm da hausjan icaurd Goths ; 'The 
people pressed upou him to hear the word of God;' Luk. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 13 

5. 1 . that is, they pressed through the intermediate space to 
come up to him; hym to-comon, in A.S. Jabai qnhas 
thuk ananauthjai rasta aina, ' Whosoever shall compel thee 
to go a mile/ &c. Matt. 5. 41. from nauthjan, to necessi- 
tate ; that is, shall force thee forward, or press thee on or 
through. 

3. As denoting time. *Am rh fiiov, per vitam. 'Av<* «r£« 
ST*?, per singulos annos, quotannis ; Dioscor. ap. Scapul. 

Ith af anastodeinai gaskaftais gumeinjah quinein gatazoi* 
da Goth ; 'But from the beginning of the creation, God made 
them male and female ;' Mar. 10. 6. i. e. from the point of 
time when the creation arose or stood up. According to 
Ihre, anastodeith, incipit, properly signifies, surgit ; Spec. 
Gloss. Ulphil. Junius has remarked the strict affinity of 
the Belg. phrase, den aenstanden tyd, tempus instans, im- 
minens ; adding, Nam hoc tantundem fere est ac si dicas, 
tempus quod jam incipit ; Gloss. Goth. Perhaps anazmir- 
iha, signifying quod futurum est, may be viewed as belong- 
ing to this class, formed from the preposition, and wairthan 
fieri; q. the time to come up, or to come forward. To this 
corresponds the Germ, phrase, von nun an, from this time 
forward, literally, ' from now up J 

4. As applied to numbers, denoting regular distribution. 
Kivvctpcoftev Kxi vdffiov uva, ovyxixv f/Jccv, i of cinnamon and nard, 
an ounce each ;' Dioscor. The simple idea seems to be, 
that one ounce of the one material was to be laid upon, or 
added to, an ounce of the other. 

One of the examples given by Scapula of this use of the 
Gr. preposition, is from Luk. 9- 14. KarccxXtmn etvrovg 
Hbio-icts avu, wrvKcvrx ; ' Make them sit down by fifties in a 
company/ The Moes.G. exactly corresponds. Gawaurk- 
eith im anakumbjan kubituns, ana quharjamoh fimftijuns. 
«--And ' Joseph went up from Galilee, anameljan mith Ma- 



14 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

rein, to be written up with Mary ; Luk. 2. 3. 5. i.e. re- 
gistered in succession, the names of the persons being writ- 
ten one after another. — Sibwi sintham ana dag ; ' seven 
times in a day ;' Luk. 17- 4. i. e. seven times in succession, 
one time upon, or after another, till the number of seven 
be filled up. In the A.S. version it is, Seofan sit ham to 
the on daeg. — Ainquharjaneh handuns analangands ; ' lay- 
ing hands on every one of them ;' Luk. 4. 40. lifting or 
causing his hands to lie upon them in succession, one after 
another. 

5. Denoting elevation, as equivalent to upon, or resting 
upon. 'a»« Ta^ycL^u) uk^oc. vpivov ; Homer. ' Sitting upon 
the top of Gargarus.' 

Ak ana lukarnastathin ; ' but upon a candlestick ;' Matt. 
6. 15. The Moes.G. noun is here in the dative. Ana 
corresponds to im in the Gr., which is very often used as 
signifying super and supra. I need scarcely say, that eleva- 
tion is the precise idea here. This appears, not only from the 
formation of the noun, which denotes something on which a 
light is set, but from the declared design of its being thus 
set, that it may ' give light to all that are in the house/ The 
preposition used in the A.S. version is ofer, super. 

' And he commanded the people, anakumbjan ana airtfiai, 
to sit down on the ground ;' Mar. S. 6. uixtthtuv %tc\ t«? y??. 
If the expression be understood in relation to the primary 
act, it would suggest the idea of descent. But if the termi- 
nus ad quern be considered, the earth must be viewed as the 
object that kept them up or aloft. As the verb ^/tt*, by 
itself, denotes the act of falling or descending, and nothing 
further ; the same may be said of kumbjan. But Gr. «»*, 
entering into the composition of the verb, as referring to 
y?s, and Moes.G. ana, both in composition, and simply as 
referring to airtliai, point out the object which as it were 
pressed upzcards, resisting the force employed in descending. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 15 

We may remark, by the way, how nearly anakumbjan re- 
sembles wocKiifuu,,. the synoiiyme of the Gr. verb here used. 
The same Moes.G. verb occurs in different places, with the 
preposition mith prefixed, as . denoting fellowship, where 
ttvxKiifAoii is found in the original. ' For their sakes mithana- 
kumbjandane, who sat with him ;' rwxvciKupivovs ; Mar. 6. 
26. Also in Matt. 9^ 10. ? Many publicans came, and 
mithanakumbidedon, sat down with him ;' <rvmvUwTo. 



"Anv, absque, sine, praeter, citra. 

This is not generally reckoned among the regular Gr. pre- 
positions. But, though often used adverbially, it seems, 
when governing the genitive, to have an equal claim to this 
honour with some others; as in the phrases *nv fan, sine 
sono. »nv mieyym, sine alis, &c. 

The Moes.G. preposition inuh has various meanings. It 
signifies in, also propter. It even occurs as a conjunction, in 
the sense of x«\, et. But either the same term, or one pre- 
cisely alike in form, is used in rendering the prepositions 
clnv, %ue,h, and ttu^xtos. 

Ains ize ni gadriusith ana airtha, inuh attins izwaris 
wiljan. ' One of them shall not fall to the ground without 
the will of your Father;' Matt. 10. 29. A.S. butan eozc- 
rum Faeder. Gr. unv t£ ?nasTgo$ v.u.Zv. — ' He is like a man, 
timrjandin rain ana airthai inuh grunduzvaddjo, building an 
house upon the earth zvithout a foundation;' Luk. 6. 49. 
A.S. butan grund-wealle ; Gr. %<»£<; B-i^xia.- — Inuh mik ni 
maguth taujan nizvailit ; ' Without me ye can do nothing ;' 
Joh. 15. 5. Gr. xpyi IpS. — Inuh fairina kalkinassaus ; 
1 saving for the cause of fornication;' Matt. 5. 32. Gr. 

In Isl. aan is used in the same sense. Aan praepositio 
regens genitivum, sine, absque, linv significat, ut cum Graeca 

i 



16 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

vocula, quoad etymon et casum alludit. Gudm. Andr. p. 
11. Su.-G. an id.; as, an dual, sine mora; Troj. Sag. 
Alldrey ma ek thin an vera ; Nunquam sine te esse potero ; 
Heimskring. II. 275. 

Alem. ane, aana, ana, ano, and an have the same signifi- 
cation. An grossen schaden ; sine magno damno ; Rhythm. 
Car. Magni Expedit. Ana einikema tmiala, sine aliqua 
mora; Kero, c. 31. Ano zuifal, sine dubio ; ibid. c. 7. 
Ana and ane are also rendered praeter, extra; Gloss. Lipsii. 
Ane niuuue sculde habo ih alte, praeter nova debita habeo 
vetera ; Notker. Psalm, 50. 7. The term is retained in Germ. 
ohn, ohne, without. Kilian renders Teut. on sine, absque ; 
praeter, citra, the very terms used in the explanation of einv ; 
remarking, that it is still used by the higher Germans with- 
out composition, but that with the lower, and the inhabitants 
of England, who have given it the form of un, it has merely 
the place of a privative or negative particle. 

To this particle, as the root, Ihre traces a number of Isl. 
and Alem. words; as Isl. aan, and Alem. woo, defectus ; 
anig, carens ; an~en, carere ; and even Lat. inanis. 

In the old language of Holland and Friesland, an was 
used in the same sense with modem on, sine ; Kilian. 



CHAPTER II. 



'a xt/, Lat. Ante. 



'AvTty. it has been justly observed, primarily signifies be- 
fore, i?i presence or in face of Gr. Exerc. p. IS;;, JS4. The 
secondary applications of this primary meaning have been 

1 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 17 

viewed as chiefly four ; expressing, 1 . opposition ; 2. com- 
parison; 3. preference ; and 4. substitution. 

The following examples have been given of the primary 
sense. 'i«-*7« v *s " VT ' ^k**' ' set or P^ced before the door ;' 
i. e. fronting the door. Avt »sXm« rtT£ctpfcms, Hesiod. ' turn- 
ed fronting the sun.' 

It is undoubtedly the same preposition, which appears in 
a variety of forms in the Goth, and Germ, dialects; Moes.G. 
anda, and; A.S. and ; Alem. ante, ant, ande, ent ; Isl. Su.G. 
and; Belg. ont. 

It has been observed by the learned Hickes, that both in 
Moes.G. and in A.S. the preposition and is prefixed to 
many nouns and verbs ; and that it signifies in, coram, con- 
tra, adversus. It is used by itself only as a copulative or 
conjunction in A.S., but in Moes.G. as a preposition. 
Home Tooke, to whose philological researches this age has 
been much indebted, derives the conjunction and, indeed, 
from A.S. an-an dare, concedere, and ad congeries, q. «;?- 
ad, contracted from anan-ad, dare congeriem ; Divers. Purl. 
I. 135. But an etymon, evidently so much strained, can 
scarcely be considered as admissible in any case ; far less in 
relation to a word of such common use, and which must 
have been so early introduced. Besides, it obviously pro- 
ceeds on a false ground, that the particle and necessarily 
suggests the idea of a congeries or heap. As from the use 
of and in composition, we are certain that it had, in a more 
early period, been used as a preposition in its simple form ; 
it is undoubtedly far more natural to suppose, that the same 
term afterwards came to be employed as a conjunction. 
Nor is there great obliquity in the transition supposed. Pri- 
marily signifying before, or in presence of; when used con- 
junctively, it would, with abundant propriety, intimate that 
one object was so connected with another, as to be set be- 
fore or beside it. Thus, in the very example given, Divers. 
Purl. I. 220^ « You, and I, and Peter rode to London/ 

B 



IS OF PREPOSITIONS. 

the idea plainly is, that the three persons referred to rode in 
company, that is, in presence of each other. ^ 

The Moes.G. preposition is found by itself, only as ana- 
logous to Gr. ug, h, ear/, and xetlu, to Lat. in and per. In 
composition it frequently occurs in the sense of coram. 
This is evidently its force in the word andanahti vesper. 
Andanahtja than zcaurthanamma, than gasag ju sa nil ; 
' When evening was come/ or ( evening being come, when 
the sun had set ;' Mar. 1 . 32. Junius views the term as 
compounded of andeis or andi fiuis, and nahts the night ; 
* and thus,' he says, ' it was anciently used to signify the later 
part of the evening,' de vespera profundiore, q. d. circa fi- 
nem vesperae. iSahts, however, in no instance denotes the 
evening, but invariably the night. It is obvious, therefore, 
that he changes the meaning of the word in order to support 
his etymon. The end of the night can never be the end of 
the evening. Anda here is evidently the preposition in the 
sense of before, literally signifying before-night, or the ^V.s* 
part of it. Andanahti thus exactly corresponds to A.S. 
foran-niht, primum noctis, as explained by Somner, ' the 
first, or beginning of the night ;' Teut. xeur-nacht, contici- 
nium, prima pars noctis, Kilian; in modern Belg. voomacht, 
id., or as in the North of Scotland, thefore-nicht. 

This sense appears also in Moes.G. anda ug jo, manifeste, 
palam. Ni makta andaugjo in baurg galeithan ; ' Could 
not openly enter into the city \ Mar. 1. 4o. This Junius 
derives from angjan ostendere. But as he deduces this verb 
from augo, ocuius, because to shew, is merely to subject 
something to the inspection of the eye ; it would have been 
more natural to have given the same origin immediately to 
the adverb. For it can scarcely admit of a doubt, that it is 
formed from and coram, and augo ocuius, q. what is set be- 
fore the eye. 

Andazcleiz, in the same ancient language, signifies /J* i 
Draus ana andazcleizn, i fell down on his face;' Luk. 17. 



OF PREPOSITIONS* 39 

16. Wilts by itself denotes the face, from zdit-an circum- 
spicere. JVfeiz or zdits thus signifies the face, as being that 
part of the body which is exposed to view, and by which, 
especially, men are recognised. Jnda-zdeiz, therefore, is 
merely that which men see, as being placed before them. As 
A.S. wlit-an signifies aspicere, videre, intueri ; andwlite and 
andzdita are used in the same sense with Moes.G. anda- 
zdeiz, being explained, ' vultus, aspectus, facies, os ; the coun- 
tenance, face, or visage,' Somner ; also as equivalent to forma, 
Lye. The term is retained in Alem. antliz, antluzze, ant- 
lutte, Germ, antliz, Su.G. anlete, id. 

As Isl. lit-a, softened from wlit-an, signifies to look, to 
behold, lit and andlit denote the countenance, vultus ; auglit, 
the face, facies ; Gudmund. Andr. Lex. p. 168. The latter 
is evidently from auga the eye, and lit-a to see, q. what is 
beheld by the eye. 

It has been observed by the learned and judicious Thre, in 
his Ulphilas Illustrates, p. 290. that in Moes.G. zdits or vlits 
we have all the radical letters of Lat. vultus ; little account be- 
ing made, in the comparison of languages,. of the change of 
the vowels. Some have strangely derived vultus from vol- 
vere. The more general opinion is that of Isidore, who 
traces it to voluntas. For it has been said, that, as facies 
and vultus are distinguished by Roman writers, the first de- 
notes the general figure, but vultus the expression, or the 
indication of passion or affection by means of the features. 
The Moes.G. and A.S. verb, however, supplies us with a 
reason for the use of the term, which is far more satisfactory. 

This etymon is also supported by analogy in other lan- 
guages. Gr. 7r%o<ra7r6v, facies, conspectus, strictly corresponds 
to andazdeiz ; being formed from v^U ad, or prope, and uty, 
jbiros, oculus, q. what is brought near the eye, or presented 
to it. I need scarcely say that Lat. aspectus, by which the 
Moes.G. and A.S. terms are rendered, is from ad and specio, 
-ere, to see, to behold ; species, form, likeness, image, being 

b 2 



c 20 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

from the same verb, as Erjg. visage is from video, vis-um. 
A.S. ansyn, facies, is evidently from and before, and se-ou 
to see ; to which Su.G. ansigte, and Germ, angesicht, both 
denoting the countenance, exactly correspond. This ana- 
logy of idea, even where there is no verbal similarity, may 
be observed in the Hebrew language. *£s)7, lipnee, as a 
preposition, siguifies coram, ante, in conspectu, also ante- 
quam ; and secondarily, contra, also ob, propter. It is 
merely the noun D'OB, panim, signifying facies ; also, ad- 
spectus, conspectus, species, in the constructed state, with 
the preposition ^j, ad, ante, prefixed. The noun is formed 
from the verb l"OH), panah, adspexit, respexit. 

Andwairthi, facies, not only affords another proof of the 
use of the preposition in the sense of coram, but is exactly 
analogous. Warth — sinus andzcairthjis is anthara ; facta est 
species vultus altera ; i the fashion of his countenance was 
altered ;' Luk. 9' 29. Junius seems to view it as formed 
from and signifying contra, and zcairth-an to be, retained in 
the old Eng. verb north ; as, ' wo zcorth the man,' i.e. wo be 
to him. He therefore renders in andwairthja in praesentia ; 
GI. Goth. p ; 309. It may be observed by the way, that 
Lat. praesum, though more generally used as expressive of 
superiority, or the state of being before or above others in 
respect of rank, must have originally denoted simple presence, 
or the slate of being before as to place. Adsum praesens 
praesenti tibi. Plaut. Quum hanc sibi videbit praesenti 
eripi : ' When he shall see her taken from him before his 
face ;' Terent. It also deserves notice, that andzcairthja, or 
to express it according to its composition, anda zcairthan, 
is strictly analogous to the Gr. phrase, uvrx nth utm, esse 
ex adverso parte. It is not less correspondent to tfHtp*4u, 
(for which it is used in different passages,) compounded of lr 
in, and k(o coram, as signifying, in conspectu. 

lhre deduces andzcairthi from and as, in its primary sense, 
equivalent to coram, and zvara, zcarda, to see. Whatever 
I 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 21 

be the origin, it seems to be the same word which appears 
in the form of andwairthis, as a preposition. They are 
viewed as different by both these learned writers ; and the 
preposition is written andwairthis without any apparent rea- 
son. But it may be observed, that, in the version of Ulphi- 
las, what is called a preposition occurs in two different forms. 
For it is also written andwairthja. How can we account 
for this, but by supposing that it is merely the noun ; and- 
zvairthis, apparently an error of the transcriber, in place of 
andwairthjis, being the genitive, and andwairthja the dative ? 
Thus in Luk. 1. 8. ' He executed the priests office, in and- 
wairthja Goths, before God ; literally in the face or presence 
of God.' Mar. 15. 39- 'The centurion, atstandans in and- 
wairthja is, standing over against him ;' ex adverso, Junius ; 
that is face to face, or fronting him. 

The resemblance, as to formation, between andawleiz and 
7T£o<ra7r<>v has been already remarked. It also deserves atten- 
tion, that in almost all the places, in which trpcramv occurs 
in the Gr., andwairthja is used by Ulphilas. Now, it is 
well known that v^wa*** not only denotes presence, as in 
Acts 5. 41. ' They departed, a,™ vgao-axx, from the pre- 
sence of the council ;' but that, with a preposition, it even 
assumes an adverbial form, as in Acts 25. 16*. ' It is not the 
manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before 
that he who is accused have the accusers, kxtu irpwirov, face 
to face/ Diodorus Siculus uses the same phrase, as signi- 
fying, coram, in conspectu, in os. V. Scapul. in vo. ngoVa- 
ttov and andwairthja being thus exactly synonymous, why 
should we not view the latter as merely the noun used in a 
peculiar form r 

It merits observation, that, in the Goth, languages, and, 
anda, &c. have not only the primary sense of the Gr. pre- 
position, signifying what is before as to place, but that of 
Lat. ante, as denoting priority with respect to time. I need 
scarcely say, that this, of itself, affords a strong presumption 

s 3 



22 OF TPwEPOSITIONS. 

that the Goth, preposition is more ancient than either, ap- 
pearing as the fountain whence «vri and ante have taken their 
different courses. That Moes.G. anda had this sense, is 
evident from what we have already seen as to the meaning of 
andanahti, the time preceding night. Alem. andigave, from 
ande ante, and gabe donum, signifies ante-donum, as oppo- 
sed to cirri-gave post-donum. Perhaps, we ought to trace 
to the same origin Germ. ahnd-en, ahn-en, to perceive a 
thing beforehand; if not also ahnen ' ancestors, antecessors, 
forefathers;' Ludwig. 

When we have formed the idea of one object being placed 
before, in the face of or as fronting another, the transition is 
very natural to that of opposition. For the very term, by 
which we express the latter idea, literally denotes the posi- 
tion of one thing over against another, that is, directly be- 
fore, or in front of it; being composed of ob and pono. In 
its more literal acceptation, it gives no intimation of hostility, 
either in word or in act, but merely indicates local contra- 
position. The intention with which an object takes or re- 
ceives this place, or the act itself, necessarily enters into the 
the idea of formal contrariety. Sometimes, though the pre- 
position used may admit of the sense of contra, it denotes 
that one object is placed before another, rather in statu indif 
ferentiae. 

Thus Moes.G. andazcaurd, responsum, although com- 
posed of anda adversum, contra, and zcaurd verbum, does 
not necessarily suggest the idea of contradiction, but merely 
that of uttering a zcord in return. The answer is the word 
presented, as it were, to the word previously spoken. The 
same structure characterizes andhajian respondere, from and 
contra, and hafjian, elevare, q. to lift up or heave the voice, 
as opposed to the elevation of it by the speaker to whom a 
reply is made. 

The same preposition. is used in a similar composition in 
A.S. and other northern languages. Andaicaurd, responsio, 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 23 

in A.S. is andicyrd, (as the verb is andzcyrd-an,) in Alem. 
antwort, in Belg. antzcoord. Alem. antmierdi signifies co- 
ram, corresponding to Moes.G. andzcairthja ; antzcarta, an- 
tnurti, praesens; an Gods andunarde, in Dei praesentia; 
enluuurten, gi-antuuarten , Germ, ub&r-antworten, exhibere, 
praesentare, &c. &c. Moes.G. andzcairthja, coram, is evi- 
dently retained in A.S. andivaerd praesens, whence andzveard- 
ian praesentare, andwardnysse praesentia, &c. 

1. It has been seen, that the first secondary sense given to 
Gr. avri is that of opposition. But it may be observed, that 
this has different shades. It does not merely include the 
idea of local opposition, but is extended to hostility in word 
or in action. The Moes.G. preposition has the same diver- 
sity of application. 

In the various use of the preposition, or noun, andzcairthja, 
we may discern the very slight transition of signification 
which is made, from expressing the state of a person as 
merely in presence of another, or before him, to that of his 
being placed directly over against him. It occurs strictly, 
in the first sense, in Luk. 20. 26. ' They could not take 
hold of his words, in andzcairthja manageins, before or in 
presence of the people ;' which perfectly preserves the force 
of Gr. hxvTtcv here used. I need scarcely observe, that Imv. 
riov is composed of h in, and uvri before, denoting the state 
of being before or in the presence of another ; as \wmov is 
from h in, and a-^ ocuius, vultus. 

Andzvairthi is also used to signify local opposition in a 
stricter sense ; as in a passage formerly quoted. ' The cen- 
turion, it is said, was atstandands in andzcairthja, standing 
over against Jesus;' Mar. 15. ^9. Gr. I| luwvatt. A si- 
milar phrase occurs in Matt. 27. 61. Sitandeins andzcair- 
this thamma hlaizca ; ' sitting over against the sepulchre ;' 

Gr. U7TiViCVTi TOy TclQov. 

We do not find the same word used to denote hostile oppo- 

B 4 



OF PREPOSITION. 



ailion* But this may be owing to the very imperfect state iu 
w hich the Codex Argenteus has been handed dowp to us. And 
and a?ida, however, evidently bear this signification, as other- 
wise compounded. It appears in andsakan, contradicere, from 
and contra, and sakan arguere. Andsakani taikns, ' a sign/ or 
' token, which shall be spoken against ;' Luk. 2. 34. Gr. otifiun 
civriXiyopivov. The same idea may be perceived in the for- 
mation of andrunnan disputare, from the preposition, and 
rirman currere, q. to run against ; resembling Lat. discur- 
rere, Fr. discourir. Andastaths denotes an adversary ; from 
and contra, and standan stare. Frazceit mik ana andastath- 
ja meinamma ; * Deliver me from mine adversary ;' Luk. 
J 8. 3. Gr. dvTih'%6v pcv. Andastaua has the same signifi- 
cation; the verb being' stojan judicare. Andaset is abomi- 
nation, q. what one sets himself against. 

In A.S., andsaete signifies abomination, and also occurs 
as the participle past, in the sense of exosus, perosus. In 
like manner Moes.G. andsakan appears as andsacian negare, 
inficiari, with its derivatives. Andstandan, resistere, is very 
slightly changed in its meaning ; as it signifies sustinere, pati ; 
that is, so to resist as not to sink under. A.S. and occurs 
in the same sense, where there is no correspondent term in 
Moes.G. ; as in andfexe calvities, that is, the state opposed 
to that of having hair, baldness ; whence andfege, decalva- 
tus. We may add and-ian, zelare, q. to feel a principle of 
opposition ; anda, rancor,]; invidia, zelus, livor ; and andig 
invidus. V. Lye. 

In the Salic Law, x. 5. ande sitto signifies contra morem; 
Schilter. Alem. ando, ant, and anti, siguify zelus, and ant- 
on iudignari. 

According to Gudmund, Andr., lsl. and is an inseparable 
preposition signifying mrrlj contra, adversus. This, he says, 
is evident from a great many composites in which it appears. 
Isl. andraa means conflictus, from and contra, and raa im- 
petus ; andvidre, ventus contrarius ; androda, remigatio in ad- 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 25 

versum ; andstreimes, adverso flumine ; andthveiti, ictus con- 
trarius; andvitne, oppositus testis priori testification^ &c. &c 

Hire gives and as also a Su.G. preposition bearing the 
same sense, anciently anda. Andsyls is, adversus solera, to 
which raettsi/ls is opposed ; andwaegis, e regione ; andmark 
adversitas, damnum, from and contra, and mark finis. 

Belg. ont is evidently the same preposition, and in many 
instances used in the same way, giving a contrary meaning to 
the word to which it is prefixed. Thus aerd-en is to follow 
the course of nature, ont-acrden to degenerate ; binden to 
bind, ont-binden to loose ; heir en to cover, ont-helen to re- 
veal, in Moes.G. and-huljian. 

2. The next secondary sense of dvri is that of comparison, 
I find no proof of this use of the Moes.G. preposition. 

3. We might suppose, that like dvri Moes.G. and had 
been used as expressive of preference, from its sense as com- 
pounded with the verb saiqnhan, videre. For in Luk. 20. 
21. andsaiquhan signifies to respect, as preferring one per- 
son to another. Nl andsaiquhis andwairthi, i neither ac- 
ceptest the person/ 

4. 9 Avri denotes substitution ; as in the language of Thucy- 
dides, Efgqm drtl notepov, ' peace instead of war.' Moes.G. 
and and anda have the same sense in a composite state. Ga- 
nemun — andazvairthi this wairthodins ; ' They took the price 
of him that was valued ;' Matt. 27. 9. The object valued, — 
wairthoda ; that which was set before, opposite to, or against, 
the object valued, andazcairthi, that is, the price, the 
worth, — anda, or in Gr. ecvri, opposed to the person worthed, 
in order to a commutation, or substitution of the one for the 
other. To this the Isl. term andvirdi is strictly analogous, 
and evidently from the same origin. Verelius defines it, 
Pretium rei emptae par. 



'i'j OF PREPOSITIONS. 

Unci seems to be used in this sense by Ulphilas. In Matt. .5. 
38. where we read 'otpfaxpov dtrl opfaxtnv, kxI hVcfra, elm o%lt- 
ics, he renders it, Augo und angin, jah tunthu und tunthau ; 
' Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth/ Junius renders it, Oculus 
contra oculum. 

It has been supposed that the Greeks had an old noun of 
the form of o.k, having in the genitive avrog, and signifying 
front or face. This supposition principally rests on the fre- 
quent use of olvroc l as an adverb, to express before, in pre* 
sence, in face of This, it has been said, is evidently the 
accusative case of the noun. Does the accusative form of 
uvrx afford a presumption that it was once a noun, and that 
the nominative was dv? r Is not the presumption fully as 
strong, that it had a common origin with the Goth, preposi- 
tion, especially as we find this in the form of anda? v Avt* 
indeed occurs, not merely as an adverb, but as a preposition 
governing the genitive ; uvrx Tx^uccav, ante genas, vel e regi~ 
one genarum ; Scapul. It is not improbable, that, from the 
secondary sense of anda, as denoting what is opposite, espe- 
cially as transferred to the mind, the same term in A.S. has 
assumed the form of a noun, signifying, as we have seen, 
rancour, envy, &c. 

If we look for the origin of the preposition, the northern 
nations might perhaps imagine that their ancestors had fully 
as good a right to claim the honour of this as the Greeks. For 
we are not left to mere conjecture as to the existence of a noun 
bearing the sense referred to. Alem. endi actually signifies 
from ; Raban. Maur. Andinc and endinc, id. lsidor. V. 
Schilter. Thes. Su.G. aenne is explained in the same man- 
ner by Ihre. Hence aennespan, a frontlet, such as the Jews 
wore ; and, as he apprehends, the phrase kasta nda, 

praecipitem ruere. From Moes.G. and-diinsan, id., he 
even infers, that and, and andeis, explained fans, also signi- 
fied vertex. Gloss, vo. Aenne. ' 

It has been observed, that in Lat. we find a substantive 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 27 

noun curiae, (a plural from the singular anta) denoting the 
posts set up before the entry, that is, '"the fronting part of 
a house.' Disquisitions, Trans. Royal Soc. Edin. vol. v. 
p. 318. It is remarkable, that Isl. and has a sense almost 
entirely the same ; Domuncula conclavi opposita ; Gudm. 
Andr. p. 12. This seems to denote a porch erected in front 
of the principal apartment, or what might properly be called 
the house itself. Andveige is explained, Sedes foribus in 
medio domus opposita ; a seat erected in front of the doors 
in the middle of the house ; most probably a vestibule. 
And-dyre, fores interiores, ibid. q. the door immediately 
fronting the apartments of a house ; as distinguished from 
kallddyre, ostium extremum, that which is meant to defend 
from cold. 



CHAPTER III. 

Of 'Ano and A<«. 

Acre, cicp'. 

Lat. ab, Moes.G. af abu, A.S. af of Alem. ab, abe, 
•abo, apa, Isl. Su.G. Dan. af Germ, ab, Old Flandr. ave, 
Belg. af, auf, Eng. off, Scot, af, aff. 

It has been generally admitted that Lat. ab is to be view- 
ed as a derivative from «V«. It is even asserted by Priscian, 
Lib. 1. c. 13., that the ancient Latins used af for ab, as in 
the law of the Twelve Tables : Sei Pater iiliom ter venum- 
duit, «/*patre liber estod. 

It has been supposed, that the radical sense of «V« is the 
remote or extreme point ; as if the particle were used in re- 
ference to the terminus ad quern. But, as far as I have ob- 
served, it properly denotes ' the departure or the distance of 
one person or thing from the place of another.' Thus it 



•8 OF PREPOSITIONS. v 

it primarily respects the terminus a quo. l Hence', as has 
been said, ' it was easily transferred to signify the^progress or 
distance of one period of time from another/ It has been 
applied to modes of action, and chiefly as regarding an effect 
proceeding, or coming from, something as its cause or spring. 
The primary sense has been extended so far as to include 
the idea of absolute ?iegation. The preposition signifying 
away from, off from ; ' the one object is supposed to be 
set at such a distance from the other, that they cease to be 
in any manner connected/ 

The derivation from Gr. k%xu, to tie, is by no means sa- 
tisfactory : and the passage, in which the noun aVos is sup- 
posed to occur (in the Phcenissae of Euripides), is very 
doubtful ; several critics being inclined to read xuncs fatigue, 
instead of «Vo?. V. Prof. Dunbar's Exerc. p. 186. It has 
been supposed, that, because we find the comparative «*■•- 
n^os, farther, and the superlative aV^r*™?, farthest or most 
remote ; we may conclude that there formerly existed an ad- 
jective, of the form of aV«s, signifying distant or remote, 
though it had become obsolete. But all that can justly be 
inferred from the existence of a.%ari^ and uttvtutos, is that 
they have been formed from the preposition ; in the same 
manner as in A.S. itfer superior, upper, and nfemest supre- 
mus, uppermost, have had their origin from \ifa supra, up; 
and inner, I si. inra, interior, Eng. inner; innemebt, lsl. instr, in- 
timus, Eng. inmost, from inne iwtro, within. We are not autho- 
rised to conclude, that in A.S. there must have been an ad- 
jective, resembling ufe or ufa, signifying high; or in A.S. 
and lsl., one of the form of inn, bearing a positive sense 
analogous to that of the comparative and superlative. 

The conjecture of Home Tooke, with respect to of, the 
Goth, and A.S. preposition, of a similar signification, is as 
whimsical as can well be imagined. He views it as ' a frag- 
ment of the Goth, and A.S. afara posteritas, &c. afora, 
proles ;' observing, that l it is a noun substantive, and means 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 29 

always consequence, offspring, successor, follower/ &c. Div. of 
Purley, I. 367. Had he derived Moes.G. afar post, after, 
from this source, it would have had some verisimilitude ; 
although the inverse is most probable. Had he looked into 
the I si., without supposing so strange a section of a word, he 
would have found a preferable etymon, according to his own 
idea, in afe avus, ofi, id. Gloss. Edda; in Hym. 28. 2. 

Wachter deduces ab-en, deficere, from the adverb of de- 
fect ab. If we must have a verb or a noun as the root of 
the particle, perhaps this verb may be found to have as good a 
claim as any other. It is, doubtless, the same verb in ano- 
ther form, which Kilian gives as old Teut. ; av-en abire, de- 
ficere, to depart from, to fail or fall off. 

I shall now consider the different senses given of d™ in their 
order, as illustrated by the use of the synonymous preposi- 
tions in the various dialects of the Gothic. 

1. Departure from, in regard to place. 'When he was 
come down, affairgunja, from the mountain;' Matt. 8. 1. 
«Va rS i^tvs, A.S. of tham munte; also in Mar. 9- 9. the 
same in both versions. In Isl. it is affiallenu, literally ' off 
the fells. 7 We have here the act of departing, — he came 
down ; and the point from which he came, the mountain. — 
He ' saw two ships standing by the lake : ithfskjans afgan- 
gandans af irn, but the fishermen, going out of them, were 
washing their nets ; Luk. 5. 2. ««•«€«»«? «V »vrm. The 
point of departure, twa skipa, the two ships. The striking 
analogy between the construction of the Gr. and Goth, can 
hardly escape notice here. Jfgangandans compounded of af 
from, and gangan to go, perfectly corresponds to the Gr. 
verb composed of «Vo and potbu ; and both verbs have the 
same preposition subjoined. The construction of another 
passage is very similar. ' They said, who shall, afwalujai, 
roll us away the stone, af daurom, from the door of the 
sepulchre ? Mar. 16. 3. i. e. o^the door. The Gr. verb b? 



30 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

ecTroxvXia-Uy the preposition U in some MSS., aVo in others ; 
in A.S. of. — Lauseiwis afthamma ubilin, * Deliver us from 
that evil/ or ' the evil one ;' Matt. 6. 13. firai n/*Sk «Vc tS 
Travis. The same idiom is preserved in the A.S. version ; 
Alys (loose) us of yfele. The act of departure, expressed 
passively, — that of being loosed, or suffered to go ; the point 
of departure, — evil, or the'evil one. it may be observed, that 
the verb lamjan is frequently used in a simple sense, as de- 
noting the removal of any impediment to motion or depar- 
ture : l The chains had been plucked asunder by him ;' ga- 
lausida af sis thos uaudibaudjos ; Mar. o. 4. The Goth, 
preposition plainly conveys the same idea in another 
passage, in which it is substituted for U in the original: 
' Which of you, having a servant plowing, will say unto him, 
when he is come from the field, go and sit down to meat ?'- 
Quimandim af haithjai, literally, ' coming from the heath ;' 
Luk. 17. 7. A.S. of thorn aecere, (Lat. agro,) whence E. 
acre. 1 may subjoin, as a ramification from this primary 
sense, that aV« often denotes the place of birth, or country 
from which one comes. ' There came a rich man, af Aiei- 
mathaias, of Arimathea, named Joseph; Matt. £7- 37. «si 
'Agtpptmim: — c Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, 
af Betkanias, of Bethany ;' Joh. 11. 1. «Vo fa&xiiag. 

Af is mentioned by Lye as occurring in the Rush worth 
copy of the A.S. Gospels, in Mar. 14. 17; also afdael, des- 
census. But it occurs very rarely, of being commonly used 
as equivalent to «*i. 

Alem. aba, de. Aba dien himela falta Truhti tifela: 
De caelis cadere fecit Domiuus daemonia ; Notker, Psa. 9<5. 
5. Ab-f alien decidere ; corresponding to Isl. offal casus, 
lapsus. Alem. ab-zceg ambages, declinatio a via recta : 
ab denoting departure, zceg the point from which it com- 
mences : apa-sceran, radere, to cut off. 

Isl. ufhitgu, ex animo deponere, afhuggia id.; afkoma* 
posteritas, q. what comes off] or takes its departure fron 
1 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 31 

a branch broken off from a tree ; aflaenda sik, patriam re- 
linquere, to go off or from one's own land or country. 

2. Distance from, as to place. ' And the leprosy, aflaith 
afimma, left him; 5 qff-zvent from him, Mar. 1. 42. dvtixfa 
«V uvroZ ; q. went to a distance from him, he being tho- 
roughly cleansed. Isl. hvarf — af honum. — Af thamma, 
'from him that hath not, even that he hath, afnimada af 
imma, shall be taken away from him;' Luk. 19. 26. 'Ao-o 
Ti t£ a^r^wiivA an avrS. Prof. Dunbar gives d^-o^ocx^u, I 
throw from, as a proof that the Gr. preposition signifies 
axcay from, off from. Exerc. p. 187. 18S. We find this 
very use of Goth, af'm composition. ' And he, afwairpands 
zcastjai, casting azvay his garment, rose ;' that is, throwing it 

from him, to a distance; Mar. 10. 50. u7ro£x\av to ipuriov. 
The same phraseology occurs both in Gr. and Moes.G. in 
a resolved state. \ If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, 
and wairp afthus, cast it, or throw it off' from thee ;' Matt. 
-5. 29. /3«*s cctto <rov ; also in verse 30. 

Alem. abgrunte, abyss, that is, distance from the ground 
or bottom; Isl. Su.G. qfgrundid. ; afheld, abstinentia, hold- 
ing or keeping at a distance from any object. Alem. ablibe, 
death, from ab and libe life, q. departure, or being at a dis- 
tance,/} ow life. 

3. Distance, in regard to time. Fram is the Moes.G. 
preposition, which is almost uniformly used in this sense. 
Af, however, occurs in Mar. 10. 6. Af anastodeinai ga- 
skaftais, ' from the beginning of the creation ;' utto £a *g#jfe 
xvitnas. In Isl. afupphaf'e skepnunnar. In A.S. fram oc- 
curs. But we have o/* in a parallel passage ; ofmiddan-ge- 
ardesfruman, amundi principio ; Matt. 24. 21. 

Su.G. af id. Af Pinghis dagha till Martins maesso ; 
From the day of Pentecost till Martinmas. LL. Bvgir, ap. 
Hire. 



32 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

4. The preposition sometimes denotes the mode of action, 
as proceeding from a certain principle. ' Be not overcome 
of evil, but gajiukais af thiutha withiuth, overcome with 
good evil ; Rom. 12. 21. Here it is used for h r» dyxOv. 
— Af 'missilbin taiija nizcaiht, * I do nothing of myself ;' Job. 
8. 28. «V IfAavrS, Gr. ; of me sylfwi, in A.S. ; afmer sialf- 
um, Isl. The mode of doing or acting, as before, is, not 
of himself, but as instructed by the Father. — l He shall not 
speak, af sis silbin of himself;' JtpUvrS, Joh. 16. 13. A.S. of 
hym sylfon. — ' Sayest thou this thing, aba thus silbin y of thy- 
self, or did others tell it thee of mer' Joh. 18. 34. dp* ixvrS. 
A.S. of the sylfum. Here we have the act, saying or speaking ; 
the thing concerning which inquiry is made, the origin of this 
act, or the point from which it proceeded. It is asked, 
whether it was from the suggestion of the Governor's own 
mind, or from the report of others ? 

It may be observed, thatabu, which occurs in this passage, 
is evidently a modification of af with the substitution of one 
labial for another, and the addition of u paragogic, in which 
the Goths delighted. U sometimes appears as here with- 
out, and elsewhere with, the aspirate, in the form of nh ; and 
it is found affixed to almost every part of speech. V. Ihre, 
Ulph. Illustr. p. 274. 275. When the Goth, preposition 
has this addition, it very nearly resembles its Alem. sync- 
nyme abo. 

5. Negation. Moes.G. afquithan, to renounce, from af 
privative and quithan to speak. * Whosoever ni af-quithith 
allamma aigina seinamma, forsaketh not all that he hath ;' 
all his possession, Scot, his aught; Luk. 14. 33. The verb 
iu Gr. is «VoT«V<r«Tfl£;, from rxva-ai, to appoint, conjoined with 
aVo ab, signifying to depart from, to abdicate ; like Lat. ab- 
dico. The term used in the Isl. version is perfectly analo- 
gous, afieger, from af and seg-ia dicere, to say. — Afaikaii 
negare; from af and probably jaka affirmare. Af-satjan 



OF PREPOSITIONS. SS 

amovere, from af and satjan ponere, to put out of one's 
place or seat. 

A.S. af-god idolum, also used in Isl. af-godnesse, idolola- 
tria. Alem. aba-hoten negligent, i. e. honoured not ; Otfrid. 
Ab-anst invidia, from ab and anst gratia, favour. Isl. af- 
quedan, renunciare, like Moes.G. af-quithan. Su.G. af- 
saega id., compounded precisely in the same manner, from 
the verb signifying to say. Afhaenda, alicui aliquid abri- 
pere, to snatch any thing out of one's hand ; from the prepo- 
sition and hand manus. 

Mr Bortar, in his very ingenious Disquisitions, has justly- 
remarked the affinity between the preposition uto, especially 
in its aspirated form «<p', and the Eng. adverb off, originally 
off. But it will not be readily conceded that the Gr« word 
is the root. For, from what has been seen, there seems to be 
much more reason to view it as merely a branch from the 
same common root. There appears to be as little reason 
for asserting, as in p. 326, that the adverb off is ' quite a dif- 
ferent word, and from a different source, from the preposi- 
tion of.' For, from all that we can observe of the use of 
the ancient synonymous terms, in the Various dialects of the 
Goth., they seem radically the same. Moes.G. and A.S. af 
privative is evidently the same with the preposition : and the 
preposition assumes an adverbial character merely because 
it is added to the verb, instead of being prefixed. We have 
a striking proof of this in Moes-G. afzcairpands, as com- 
pared with zcairp af, referred to above. Mr B. has ob- 
served, that ' besides the preposition uno, we find in use u7ro 
as an adverb, denoting far off, with its derivative uTrakv, 
from far :' p. 321. This is a just illustration of our idea. 
For what is the adverb unc, but merely the preposition used 
adverbially, and evidently retaining its primary sense of de- 
parture or distance? 



3% OX PREPOSITIONS, 



AklCl. ( 

The resemblance between this and any Goth, particle of 
similar use, is less obvious than in various other instances. 
Moes.G. thairh, whence E. through, in signification more 
strictly corresponds to £/#, than any other preposition. But 
there is reason to believe, that there has been a radical affi- 
nity between the Gr. particle and Moes.G. du, although 
more generally signifying ad, to. 

It has been observed, that $«x. may in general be translated 
by through, whether applied to matter, to space, or to time ; 
and that, in a secondary sense, it denotes causation in all its 
forms. I shall give some examples of the use of du, or its 
synonymes, 1. as apparently signifying through in respect of 
space ; C. in regard to time ; 3. as denoting causation. 

1. Through, as applied to space. l And very early in the 
morning, — atiddjedun du thamma hlaizca, they advanced all 
the way to the sepulchre ;' Mar. 16. 2. The verb has at, 
signifying ad to, for its prefix, and du following. " They 
came thus far through all the difficulties they had to en- 
counter, arising from the darkness, the solitariness of the 
place, their fear or their apprehension of the impossibility 
of rolling away the stone, or of opposition from the guard 
of soldiers." — Ik du Attin ganga, — I go or proceed to the 
Father;' Joh. 14. 12. also ver. c 2$. v^wtftm ftgfe. It is 
well known that this verb properly signifies to make a jour- 
ney, referring to the space passed through, as formed from 
srs/gtf transeo, transadigo. 

In composition it seems, in several instances, to convey 
the same idea. ' And when he was gone forth into the way, 
there came one running/ duatrinnands ains ; Mar. 10. 17. 
Gr. Trgoc-^tt&iv, accurrens. The Goth, word conveys a more 
extensive idea. For atrinnan signifies to run towards, from 



OF PREPOSITIONS. So 

at ad, and ririnan currere. But here the preposition du is 
prefixed ; auamnrian corresponding to ^lon^a, and £««}{«- 
f*ia>, discurro, percurro. In the same manner, where 9rg««g- 
%tuu. h accedo, is used, Matt. 8. 5. 25, Mar. 12. 28, Ul- 
philas substitutes duatgangan ; which, unless we view the 
use of the preposition as merely tautological, is stronger than 
hi^ofL»t, transeo, pertranseo. For the Goth, verb, accord- 
ing to its form, would signify to approach to a point in re- 
ference to the space passed through. Duatsnman ' drew to 
the shore;' Mar. 6. 53. the translation of v^o-u^iirhe-xvy is 
from du, at ad, and sniwan ire, venire, strenue aggredi. Du 
seems to denote the difficulties, or resistance, the disciples 
met with in bringing their boat to the shore. 

When $iu is explained as signifying between or among, it 
must be viewed as a modification of this sense. ' They had 
disputed, du sis misso, among themselves, who should be the 
greatest;' Mar. 9- 34. — 'The shepherds said, dus sis misso, 
one to another;' Luk. 2. 15. him betzci/nan, A.S. version. — . 
They ' communed with one another what they might do to 
Jesus,' du sis misso; Luk. 6. 11. in A.S. bctzvux hym. Al- 
though srges be the preposition used in these passages in the 
Gr., yet in two of them it is preceded by a verb having $«* 
as its prefix; Mar. 9. 34. hiXstfqe-ctv ; Luk. 6. 11. hiXutev. 

2. As to time. — Immuh wulthus du ai/vam ; ' To him be 
glory (q. wealth) for ever;' in or per secula ; Rom. 11. 36. 
nearly the same with the phrase used by Gr, writers, 3/ xlwos, 
in aevum, or in aeternum — Sigai mith izzvis du aiwa; ' He 
shall abide with you for ever ;' Joh. 14. 16. 

3. As denoting causation. It has been observed by phi- 
lologists, that 2<« is often used in lax discourse in the sense 
of Lat. propter, ob : as 2<« t£to, and $<* rxZru. V. Scapul. 
Du frequently occurs in a similar connexion and meaning, 
As used in this way, it must properly be viewed as a con- 
ic 2 



36 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

junction. But, although its grammatical form be slightly 
changed, this very change, similar to that in- regard to the 
Gr. preposition, indicates its original application. 

It marks the impulsive cause, or motive of conduct. ' I 
have married a wife, and du the ni mag quiman, therefore 
I cannot come;' Luk. 14. 20. Gr. $i* rovro. — Duth the, 
* Therefore/ or l for this cause, Moses gave us circumci- 
sion ;' Joh. 7. 22. also 3*« roZro, — 'Fear not Zacharias, du 
theei, for thy prayer is heard;' Luk. I. 13. Gr. hin\ — 
e Cause driving away fear,— the hearing of his prayer. — Jo- 
seph also went up — unto the city of David, du theei was, be- 
cause he was of the house and lineage of David ;' Luk. 2. 4. 
Gr. Sice to iTmt. — Cause of his taking this journey, — his rela- 
tion to the royal family. 

In the same sense it is used for oiu, n. Du quite ni attau- 
huth ina, ' Why have ye not brought him r' Joh. 7. 45. 
Propter quid, for what reason ? what cause has prevented 
you from bringing him as a prisoner?' Quhe is used for 
quha quid; Hickes. Gram. p. 35. Du quhe again occurs in 
the same sense, chap. 8. 43. 46. for hart. 

It marks the consequence, as referring to the efficient cause 
previously mentioned. 'The power of the Highest shall 
overshadow thee, dutheh, therefore also that holy thing — shall 
be called the son of God;' Luk. 1. 35. Gr. &«, from the 
preposition 2<« and o quid. As A.S. the, signifying quod, 
seems to be merely the relative used as an adverb, it is pro- 
bable that Moes.G. the, theh, was originally a part of some 
pronoun equivalent to this or that ; especially as tho, the 
accusative plural of the article, is used in the sense of haec . 

It sometimes signifies the procuring or meritorious cause. 
1 Behold thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, — du 
theei, because thou believest not my words;' Luk. 1. 20. 

Gr. eivd* to v. 

This particle also denotes the final cause. ' But, duth 
the, for this cause, came I unto this hour;' Joh. 12. 27. 



OF PEEPOSITIONS. 37 

2<« t8to.— ' He ordained twelve, A/ wisan mith sis, that,' or 
' to the end that, they should be with him;' Mar. 3. 14. Gr. 

tva. 

The Anglo-Saxons have changed du into to, substituting one 
dental for another, and perhaps giving nearly the sound of u 
to o. Li Alem. and Franc, it assumes the various forms of 
za, ze, zi, zua, zuo, the d being softened to ds or z. Kero 
uses za for Lat. ad. Zi thin, ad hoc; Otfrid. Zuaauhchonte, 
adjungentes, Kero; adding or eking, to. Z-uakangen acce- 
dant, id. ; corrresponding to Moes.G. duatgangan, only that 
the latter has a double prefix. Zui, also zu xoe, ad quid, cur; 
Otfrid. The latter is evidently analogous to Moes.G. du 
quhe quare. Jsl. thui, ideo, quia, is viewed by Ihre as sy- 
nonymous with Moes.G. du; as well as the Su.G. causal 
p.dverb tij, bearing the same signification. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Of 'Ek and 'e». 

'£*, e| ; Lat. Ex, out, out of. 

For some time I did not suppose that there was the 
slightest affinity between these and any preposition in the 
Goth, tongues. But in the adoption of this idea, too little 
allowance was made for the change often produced in the 
enunciation of the same term, when it passes from the lips of 
one people to those of another, and for its various modifi- 
cations among the same people during the lapse of ages. 

Accidentally observing that the particle us frequently ap- 
peared in the Moes.G. version, both by itself and in com., 

c 3 



38 OF PREPOSITION-. 

position, in the place of he or \\ in the Gr., it occurred that 
the terms might be radically the same. In consequence of 
comparison, L am more and more confirmed in this opinion, 
especially as the same preposition, in its transition from the 
Scythians to the ancient Germans, has assumed the form of 
ut, and is still by their descendants written and pronounced 
aiis. Occasionally, however, us is used in Alem. Nor is it 
unworthy of attention, that, as there are various radical terms 
which the Goths and Celts appear to have held in common, 
the preposition exactly corresponding in signification to these 
in Gael, and lr. is as. It may be supposed, that this had 
sometimes been pronounced es; for as esreimeacfi signifies de- 
viating, (Lhuyd, Obrien, Shaw;) it would seem to be com- 
pounded of as or es, out of, and reim the road or way. 

There is no vestige indeed, of the preposition us in A.S., 
though very nearly allied to Moes.G. But we know that 
particular nations have from habit been attached to particular 
sounds; or, from peculiar conformation of the organs of speech, 
have found the enunciation of some letters more easy, or more 
agreeable, than that of others. Thus, where the Germans 
use z, the Belgae prefer the harder sound of t. The same 
predilection for hard sounds has been manifested by their 
descendants, or at least by the Anglo-Belgae, in Britain. 
They uniformly use ut in the same sense with Ik, l|. But 
they did not jind it necessary to change the soft sound of the 
Moes.G. into a harder one. For besides us, the latter 
had ut, and id a. Although these had the same general signifi- 
cation with its, they were used adverbially, and in the sense 
of i\a, extra, foras. Moes.G. ut seems, however, to have had 
the same force with us in composition; as far as we can judge 
from a single example. This is utbaurans teas, efferebatuf, 
• was carried out ;' Luk. 7. 12. from ut and bait -an to bear; 
used for UiufUlwi. Vtana, formed from ut or uta, is used as 
a preposition in the sense of extra. The Anglo-Saxons seem 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 3<3 

to have borrowed their ut and utan from Moes.G. ; both 
having the same signification as in the parent language. 

We may conjecture perhaps, that originally the prepo- 
sition more nearly resembled \% than as, both from the form 
retained in Lat., and from that of the Moes.G. and Alem. 
The letter | or x was unknown to the Gothic tribes ; and, 
that letter in Moes.G., which has greatest similarity, is sound- 
ed as Gr. #. In the use of this preposition, the Moeso- 
Goths seem to have approached as nearly to the sound of x 
as their language could permit, while in order to express 
it, they confined themselves to a single letter. For they 
often used uz instead of us; and in this form it passed to the 
Alem. I need scarcely mention the common interchange of 
vowels, not only in words derived from another language, but 
in derivatives of the same language ; or urge the observation 
of Wachter, that u assumes the form of all the other vowels. 
Perhaps it may be conjectured, that the Moeso-Goths, oc- 
casionally at least, pronounced u like the Germ, diphthong u, 
which has the sound of Eng. e. 

It greatly strengthens the hypothesis, that us Or uz was 
originally the same with e| and ex, that us was used, as an 
affix, by the ancient Latins, precisely in the same sense. Thus, 
where the Goths said its himinam, from heaven, the Latins 
postponed the preposition, making coelitiis, that is, ex coelo. 
For us hairtin, ex corde, they used cordicitus, from the heart. 
The very word cor, which is deduced from Gr. x*$ix, seems 
radically the same with Moes.G. hairto. The difference of 
the initial letters forms no valid objection ; for it is well known 
that in Isl., the oldest dialect of the Goth, now extant, the 
letters h and/c are constantly interchanged. Where the Goths 
said, us Kaurtim, the Romans used radicit-us, by the roots. In 
the same manner they formedfundit-us, ex fundo ; stirpit-us, a 
stirpe; meduUit-us, penit-us, Sec. V. Ulph.IUustr. Praef. p. 7. 

From the power of the final letter, perhaps we may view 
Hz as a sort of intermediate form of the particle between ut 

c 4 



40 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

and us, or as a compound of both, q. uts; especially as wt 
find them conjoined in utm-gangan, egredi. ( 

The Gr. preposition «»has been derived from ha, the same 
as uk*>, cedo, I quit, yield, or give way. I shall only remark 
the affinity between this and the Goth, verbs which have the 
same signification : A.S. zcik-an, Alem. uuicc-an, uuich-en, 
Su.G. wik-a, Isl. vyh-a, veg~ia, Germ, weich-en, cedere. 
Wachter observes that some derive the Germ, verb from iUuv, 
zv being prefixed. But he hesitates as to this, because zceichen 
.signifies to yield as to place, but ukuv to yield in the way 
of obsequiousness. He prefers deriving it from zceg, an ad- 
verb denoting motion from a place. It is surprising, that, 
for the reason given, he did not think of inverting the etymon. 
For from the figurative use of the Gr. verb, compared with 
the simple sense of the different Goth, synonymes, it would 
seem most probable that the former is the derivative. 

The variety of Goth, verbs, corresponding in signification 
with the supposed root of k, had suggested the idea, that the 
Gr. preposition might have had its origin from some old Scy- 
thian or Gothic word denoting change of place, which is ad- 
mitted to be the primary sense of the particle. Moes.G. nags, the 
oldest northern term signifying a way, seemed to indicate some 
affinity, at least to !|. It is also applied to a journey, or to 
the distance to which one goes from any given place. Hegs, 
which appears to acknowledge a common root, denotes 
motion. It might seem to confirm this idea, that as in Isl. 
the verb signifying to give place, has the form of veg-ia, 
(Verel. Ind.) veg is rendered, via, iter. But it apparently 
derives still greater probability from the use of Germ, zceg, 
an adverb denoting motion from a place, and signifying hinc, 
inde, foris, procul, &c. This seems to be merely zceg, a way, 
used adverbially. Hence A.S. on iceg, ad iter; on weg gc- 
zvitan, in iter discedere, abire ; zceg-faran, iter facere ; aiceg 
absens, he is azceg, abest, he is azcay. V. Somner. Alem. 
iwuegan reverti, redire in viam. 



©F PREPOSITIONS. 41 

As it has been thought that the Aeolic digamma approach- 
ed nearly to the sound of W, we have only to suppose that this 
was laid aside in the pronunciation of wigs, when the Greeks 
began to be more refined. Thus igs, or egs, would remain, 
which might easily assume the form of I|. It deserves to be 
remarked that in Germ., and Belg., zceg is used to this day in 
composition, in the same sense as the prepositions !», Ig, ex ; 
as weg-arbeiten, to work something azmy, weg-bringen, to 
remove, zceg-eilen y to haste azmy ; Ludwig. Some of the 
terms seem almost the same, in combination and in signifi- 
cation, with those used by Ulphilas; with this difference 
only, that zceg is used in place of us. Moes.G. us-gangan, 
abire, exire, Teut. zoegh-gaen, Germ, zveg-gehen abire ; us- 
niman tollere, Teut. wegh-nemen, id ; us-sandjan, eraittere, 
wegh-senden abmittere ; us-wairpati ejicere, zoegh-werpen, 
Germ, weg-werffen, abjicere; us-lilaupan, exilire ; zoegh-loopen 
aufugere. 

It may be supposed that Moes.G. wigs, or some cognate 
term of a similar meaning, might in course of time, and by 
passing through the mouths of different tribes, be changed to 
l|. But it must be acknowledged, that we can scarcely sup- 
pose that the Moeso-Goths would so far corrupt their own 
term as to transform it into us. It would be necessary to 
take it for granted, that they had borrowed it from some other 
people, after it had been considerably metamorphosed. I do 
not therefore attempt to solve the difficulty : and have merely 
thrown out these ideas, suggested by the etymon of the Gr. 
particle commonly given, and in some degree confirmed by 
analogy, as perhaps not unworthy of attention from the ama- 
teurs of philological research ; and proceed to take a com- 
parative view of the Gr. and Goth, prepositions, without pre- 
suming to determine the origin of either. For it ought ever 
to be remembered, that etymology, although a field which by 
its fairy prospects invites to the most ample and bewitching- 
range, is, from the remoteness of the objects presented to 



42 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

view, and by reason of the mist of ages in which they are fre- 
quently involved, often incapable of being illuminated by the 
unclouded ray of demonstration. 

1. The primary idea attached to U, Sg, is that of place left 
or quitted. ' And a voice, quam us himinam, came from, 
heaven ;' Mar. 1.11. lyinro U tm k^vZv. That which left 
or quitted its place — a voice ; the place quitted — heaven. 
Let us for a moment substitute wigs or wegs as the pre- 
position, throwing away the djgamma. A voice came; — the 
commencement of its a'oy— heaven — ? Joseph also weut up 
us (laleilaia, its haurg Nazaraith, from Galilee, out of the 
city of Nazareth ;' Luk. 2. 4. U noxtus, V. Ulph. Illustr. p. 
43. It is also, like i», as applied to place in relation to the 
mind, used in the sense of with* l Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God, us allamma hairtin theinamma, with all thy heart, 
gah lis allai saiwalai theinai, and with all thy soul,' &c. 
j>lar. 12. SO. I| o/jjs tJj§ ku^s/x^ c-ov, xeci eg i>A»>s tJjj "^y^Ss* 
£cc. It indeed still retains its primary sense here. For, as 
it is operative love alone that is required or accepted, the 
thing which leaves the heart, in its actings ad extra, or in 
the proofs of its previous existence there, is love. 

2. It is applied to time. 'Lk t5 ^iinvov anxa^nt?'-* ; ' he 
went away after supper.' He weut away ; — from what he 
took his nay — supper. — ' And as Jesus passed by, he saw a 
man which was blind, us gabaurthai,from his birth ;' J oh. 
9. 1. U ystiTvs. — ' Jesus knew, us frumistja, from the be- 
ginning, who they were that believed not.' Uzuh thamma 
?nela, 'from that time many of his disciples went back;' 
Joh. 8. 64. 66. \% ag#fc; — & tcjtx. — 'All these have I 
kept, us juudai meiuai, from my youth up ;' Mar. 10. 20. 

3. It denotes change of state or situation. £? <lgw; tc- 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 4tf 

Aipih, ' out of peace to go to war/ The idea suggested by 
wigs or aegs would apply here. The act, going to war ; — 
the way of going — or what they go from, — peace. It has 
been observed, that the Gr. preposition frequently denotes 
eminence, or distinction ; as what is taken from a number 
generally possesses qualities superior to the rest ; thus, g|*r 
£g<r«$, eximius, chosenfrom among. 7 Dunbar's Exerc. Us is 
used in the same sense. ' He called to him his disciples, and 
gcacaljands us in tzcalib, choosing of them twelve, &c; Luk. 
6*. 13. btylJuacc k-x avrav. The phrase is retained in Scot., 
making allowance for the different form of the preposition ; 
wailand out, selecting. — Aim us thizai managein, ' one of 
the multitude ; Mar. 9- 17- if* a* ™ 'o%te. The passage is 
rendered by Luther, Einer aus dem vo/ck. 

4. It denotes the materials of which any thing is made. 
iioT^iov Ik %e,v<n£, ' a cup of gold/— -? l He spat on the ground, 
and gazcaurhta fani us thamma spaishuldra, made clay of 
the spittle ;' Joh. 9« 6. he t£ tttvg-^tos. 

It may be added, that \k frequently denotes origin, as re- 
ferring to the place of birth. This, indeed, is merely a pe- 
culiar restriction of the primary sense of the particle. But 
it deserves particular attention; as illustrative of the intimate 
connexion between Ik and us* Us Galeilaia, l out of Gali- 
lee ariseth no prophet ; Joh. 7. 52. I* t?$ I?*a<a#<W. V. also 
verse 41. And in verse 42. it is said, * Christ cometh us 
fraizca Dazceidis, of the seed of David, and, us Bethlaihaim 
weihsa, out of the town of Bethlehem ; l Ik t£ c-tte^^to? A#£/£, 
xoii utfq Bn8\tif*. It has been observed, that ik, ' in certain 
phrases, and with names of places, is often used as synony- 
mous with aVo, both denoting the place quitted.' Dunbar, 
p. 190. We have a proof in the words last quoted, as in 
many other passages, that us is used for both , 



44 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

In a similar sense it denotes what springs or grozcs from 
something else. * No man eat fruit, us thus, of, or from off, 
thee hereafter forever;' Mar. 11. 14. U <rov. 



1. In composition, Us, like «*, retains its original meaning. 
c Into whatsoever city, in-gangaith, ila-i^vurH, ye enter, and 
they receive you not, us-gangandans, i%ih6ovrts, going out in- 
to the streets,' &c. Luk. 10. 10. Sometimes with the addi- 
tion of ut, as signifying foras; as, Usgangands ut; Matt. 26*. 
75. ' going out,' \\i^m \\w. 

Alem. uz-crepis, effoderis, is formed like Moes.G. us-grab- 
an effodere ; uz-hoben, levare, like us-hofjan id. ; uzi-trippun 
ejectam, like us-dreiban ejicere ; uz-kakangan, egredi, like 
us-gangau id. ; uz-sentit, foras mittit, like us-sandjan, emit- 
tere; uz-uurft jactum, like us-zcairpan ejicere, &c. &c. 

2. Sometimes it is used intensively. ' They were, usagidai, 
sore afraid ;' Mar. 9. 0. exactly corresponding to zx$£oi in 
the Gr. — ' I came not to destroy the law, — but us-fulljan, 
to fulfill ; Matt. 5. 17. adimplere, finem facere, Lye. The 
Gr. word is *M$G-xi.—Us-geisnodedun, obstupuerunt, 'they 
were affrighted ;' Mar. 1 6. 5. lltdxpQtfarxj, from k inten- 
sive, and QxpZiu paveo.— ' That they may be us-tauLanai, 
made perfect; Joh. 17- 23. from us and taujan to do; 
TiTiXaapivoi. To this agrees Germ, aus-machcn, perficere, 
q. to make out, to tinish ; aus-spaehen explorare, to spy out; 
aus-encehlt eximius, what is zcaiFd, or chosen in preference to 
others. 

3. It has also a privative sense. Moes.G. kiusan signifies 
to choose ; with the preposition prefixed, to reject. ' The 
stone which the builders us-kusun, rejected;' Luk. 20. 17. 
Here it is used like x*o. The word in Gr. is xmloKipxrxi. 
V. also chap. p. 29. Mar. 8. 31. Lukan signifies to lock, 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 4& 

us-lnkan to open. ' Us-lukan, to open the blind eyes ;' Joh. 
10.21. 

As Alem. burger signifies civis, us-burger is civis extra- 
neus ; us-lude denotes foreigners, from us negative and leute, 
Lat. Barb, leudi, homines. Germ, aus-thun to do; aus- 
streicken delere, from aus and streichen to strike. 

I shall only add, that in Alem. uzan, uzzan, uzzana signify 
extra, like Gr. If*. Uz, in the modern Saxon, still corres- 
ponds tO&T. 

l Ev. Lat. In. 

This preposition has been derived from the verb, la, m'wa^ 
or hivpi, to clothe, and thence to cover ; ' q. the clother, co- 
verer, and, by generalizing this idea, container or compre- 
hender.' In order to obtain the idea of comprehension, there 
must be rather a violent transition from that of clothing, 
such as we cannot conceive a rude people to make ; for such 
must be the state of every people, when they form those 
winged words which are indispensably necessary in a very 
early stage of social intercourse. I would prefer the etymon 
given by Lennep, from e'tftj sum. 

1. The general idea, primarily conveyed by the preposition, 
is that of the place -in which any object presently is or exists. 
This gives the most simple idea of containing or compre- 
hending. Is the question asked, Where is the place of such a 
person ? that is, his to uvoct, where he is ; the answer may be, 
that he is h h^va-aXs/*, that he resides or is there, Jerusalem 
being the city that contains him. We find, indeed, that iiv, 
which may be viewed as the contraction of the infinitive, 
and hi, were used by the poets for W. Both are met with in 
Homer. Eh may have been the ancient form of the particle. 
A\ e may suppose it to have been secondarily applied to state 
or condition, by a slight transition from the idea of place. 



46 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

'Zv iwuftu sTvxi, posse, Thucyd. i. e. to be in a state of power ; 
— power the peculiar mode or character of befng. — 'e» turuc 
Ml, accusari, &c. It is also applied to time. The sub- 
stantive verb seems to answer here at least fully as well as 
Iwja. 3 Ev G-7rov%at$ ntms-e, He did it during the truce ; — the 
truce being, existing, or enduring* while he did it. 

But perhaps it may be deduced from the old verb %*, 
whence tiffa eo, arso venio ,* infinitive mxt. It is singular, that 
although this verb is compounded with all the other prepo- 
sitions, it does not appear with h ; as if it had been meant to 
intimate, that the preposition itself, being formed from the 
verb, could not, with propriety, be prefixed. It cannot be 
viewed as denoting motion towards a place, for this is more 
consonant to the signification of tfs ; but rather the termina- 
tion or remit of this motion, which we express by saying, that 
a person has come to a particular place (which is another 
sense of the verb,), or referring to the place which receives 
him, or the recipient object. It may be supposed to have 
been primarily applied to objects capable of motion. This 
will include most of the examples given in illustration of 
hwa. 

1. As to place. — 'Ev t£ oUa hcxPifyro, ' she sat in the 
house;' Joh. 11. 20. The state — sitting; the recipient — 
the house; as contrasted with what is said of Martha, in the 
same verse, that she Rent out. — K«Ve£«uW> h rf kcXvZv,^*, l he 
descended into the pool ;' Joh. 5. 4. The act, going — 
he zcent down ; termination of this act, the place to which 
he came, or the recipient, — the pool. — 'EXfui a 'Exxdoi, ' to 
come into Greece. The act, coming ; that to which he came, 
recipient after his coming, — Greece. 

2. As applied to time. 'Ev met nfdptii ax6foi,<rx.ti<rn, he will 
die within seven days; Hippocrat. The event — death; the 
period within which it arrives or comes, seven days. 

It might seem -to be a confirmation of this etymon, that 
the meaning of A.S. innan is, to enter : Sythlhan he innath. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 47 

postquam ilia ingressa fuerit ; Boet. 22. 1. Teut. inn-en 
also .signifies to put in, to bring in, to gather, to receive ; as 
it is still said in Scotland, to in the crop. In Isl. the se- 
condary sense of inna is to repay, to recompense the labours 
of another, q. to give him an opportunity of gathering in 
what he has sown. But it is uncertain whether the Goth, 
verb may not have been formed from the preposition. The 
learned ihre, indeed, derives the preposition from the verb, 
(Gl. Suio.G. vo. trine, p. 989 ;) Home Tooke, from Moes.G. 
and A.S. inna, which he says, ' means uterus, viscera, venter, 
interior pars corporis.' A.S. inna occurs in the sense of 
uterus; innoth more frequently, and as bearing the other 
senses mentioned. There is not, however, the slightest proof 
that Moes.G. inna was 'ever used in this sense; but rather 
the contrary. For in Luk. 1. 11 ; 2. 21. where innothe in the 
A.S. version denotes the uterus, zcamba is used by Ulphilas. 
Moes.G. inna merely signifies intus, within ; and is evidently 
a derivative from the preposition in. 

Without confining myself to the more original senses of the 
particle, or attempting to accommodate them to any particu- 
lar etymon ; I shall state the more common significations of 
h, and show the analogy between these, and those in which in 
occurs. 

It may be previously remarked, that Goth, in sometimes 
assumes the form of inuh ; it or ah being frequently added, 
euphoniae causa, to verbs, adverbs, and prepositions. Inuh 
also occurs, with a pronoun subjoined, in an adverbial form. 

1. Moes.G. in is used in the same manner with h in re- 
gard to place. ' It giveth light to all that are in thamma 
razna, in the house ;' Matt. 5. 15. Ivtv •&/«'. — 'That ye may 
glorify your Father which is, in liiminam, in heaven,' ver. 16\ 
h rots ov^oivo7g. When in denotes place in A.S., on is subjoin- 
ed. ' He cast down the pieces of silver, in on the tempet, 
iu the temple;' Matt. 27- 5. In Alein. in has the same 



48 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

sense. In hiise Cotes, in domo Dei, Gl. Keron. In des 
rihhes huse, in cujus regni tabernaculo; Id. Prol. p. 17. In 
Isl. and Su.G. i is the preposition signifying in. By the 
vulgar in Scotland this mode is very common, before a con- 
sonant. Thus i* the house, for in the house, i the door, for 
in the door, &c. 

2. It is applied to time. ' And Mary arose, in thaim da- 

gam, in those days ;' Luk. 1. 39. a *xk nf^ttts txvtxis 

' Many widows were in Israel, in daga Heleiins, in the days 
of Elias ;' Luk. 4. 25. It rx7g wi^xh; 'ha/«». — ' The sabbath, 
in-zcisandin, was, or being, past ;' Mar. 16. J . from in and 
icisan to be ; corresponding to ^txyivcfiUa ; i. e. being through, 
for the Gr. and Goth, words are analogous in their form- 
ation. AS. in the tid, in eo tempore; Bed. Hist. 2. 3. 
Alem. in id. Thar er lag giborgan in Sunnandag in mor~ 
gan ; l Where he lay interred till Sunday morning ;' Otfrid. 
In sinen dagon, in his days; Id. 1.17. 

S. 5 Ev is sometimes used for iU; as h %i£o-} nru», for i/$ 
X&txs, in maims cadere; Homer. Thus also ik is rendered 
by Moes.G. in. ' And thou be cast in karkara, into 
prison ;' Matt. 5. 25. u$ QvXxx.b. — ' And not that thy whole 
body should be cast, in gaiannan, into hell ;' ver. 29. <-k 
yhwx*. Sometimes for tig as signifying ad; Luk. 5. 32. ' to 
call sinners, in idreiga, to repentauce; u$ ^itaicmj. 

4. The Gr. preposition is used in the seuse of inter. 
«T 5 h, inter quos erat ; Homer. So also Moes.G. in. ' Bless- 
ed art thou in quinom, among women;' Luk. 1. 2S. byvMu£V. 
— -' I send you forth as lambs, in midumai ziidje, among 
wolves.' Luk. 10. 3. literally, in the midst of wolves; in 
perfect consonancy to the structure of the Gr. phraseology, 
h para xUa>v. — ' I say — to every man that is, in izrcis, among 
vou ;' Rom. 12. 3. h vuTv. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 49 

5. 'Ev is explained as signifying apud, as in the phrase, h 
lotvira thxi, apud se esse i. e. mentis compotem esse ; Scapul. 
In this sense it is used Luk. 15. 17. Quintans in sis, l coming 
to himself.' In the Gr. however the preposition is %U. 

6. 'E v occurs in the sense of per. Scapula refers to Heb. 1.1. 

* God — hath spoken to us, b via, by the Son.' Goth, in is 
used in the same sense. ' To give knowledge of salvation — ■ 
in qfletafrawaurhte ize, by the remission of their sins ;' Luk. 
1.-775 * y xQirt* xfix^riSn etvray, 

7- 'Ev denotes the efficient cause, ' Jesus — was led, in 
ahmin, by the Spirit into the wilderness;' Luk. 4. 1. bx£ 

HviVfACCTf. 

8. The instrumental cause. * I indeed baptise you, in zvatin, 
with water; but he shall baptise you, in ahmin zveihamma, 
with the holy Ghost;' Mar. 1. 8. h Mart, — h rivivpecn «y/«. 

Q. *Ev, and Moes.G. in, both denote the meritorious cause. 

* For they think that they shall be heard, in filuwaurdein, for 
their much speaking;' Matt. 6. 7. h tJ woXvXoyU. 

10. The impulsive cause is marked by Goth, in, where £«* 
is used in the Gr. ' He knew that, in neithis,for envy they 
had delivered him;' Matt. 27. 18. 3<« <pdivov; also Mar. 6. 
17.26; 15. 10; Joh. 7. 13. 

1 1 . In denotes the final cause, also put for $*«. * The sab- 
bath was made, in mans, for man, and not man, in sabbat- 
odagis, for the sabbath;' Mar. 2. 27. 

12. It has been observed, that h with a substantive some- 
times forms an adjective; as, ' His word, h \%wtx %v, was with 
power ;' Luk. 4. 32. in zvalditfnja was, Ulphil. ; from zmldan 

D 



50 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

dominari; i. e. ' His word was powerful.' This phraseolo- 
gy corresponds to h $vMpu uvea, formerly menjtioned. 

The duplication of the letter n, in this particle, forms an 
adverb signifying intro, intus, within. Atgangands intt, 
< entering in ;' Matt. 9. 25. also Mar. 15. 43. and Luk. 1.18. 
In all these places it corresponds to the Gr. verb compounded 
with the preposition, — tlnwfteti. Sometimes, however, the 
preposition has double n, but with a change of its meaning. 
' The soldiers led him away, inn anagardis, into the hall ;' 
Mar. 15. 16. Here 'io-u is used in the Gr., signifying zcithin. 

In composition, 1 . lv ' retains the same power as in its sim- 
ple state/ This observation holds in regard to Goth, in; as, 
ingangan, to go in, to enter ; insaiquhan, intueri, from in, 
and saiquhan, to see; intandjan comburere, from in and 
tandjan to \)\\m, Sec. It is the same in Alem. 

2. 'Ev, in composition, is used intensively, as in lfi/3^t^Z^xt, 
graviter interminari, g^««o?, expavefactus, perterritus. In 
has this effect in Alem. Inedile kind, praenobilis puer, 
Otfrid; from the same origin with A.S. aedel nobilis. In- 

Jiulen persentire, thoroughly to feel; Id. V. Schilter,p. 4S1, 
482, 

3. Like Lat. in, it changes the sense of the word to which 
it is prefixed ; as inwita, inscius; from in and zciton scire. 
V. Lye. Sotberg thinks that it ought to be read wizcitans; 
Ulph. Illust. p. 27- But besides this, we have i?i-zcindans, 
injusti, Matt. 5. 45, and in-zcinditha, iujustitia, Joh. 7-18; 
A.S. iucuths ignotus, from in and cuths notus. Alem. ein 
had the same power; as in ein-gilih, and ein-lihhan, dissimi- 
lem, Gl. Keron.; in modern Germ, ungleich ; inbintan sol- 
vere, to unbind; inblanten displicere, from in and blandeti 
to please. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. ( 51 

It assumes the form of inna, when the word to which it is 
prefixed denotes a state of rest or residence within : as, inna- 
kunths domesticus, Matt. 10, 25. Gr. oikixko?; from inna and 
cunths notus, q. one known within. Innathro also signifies 
inwardly, Matt. 7. 15. corresponding to ua-ahv, and from 
within, Mar. 7. 21. the translation of 'ia-ukv. 

Alem. inna, inana, and innana, signify intro, within, Kero; 
innan intra, Otfrid. Innan them brusti, intra pectus ; Id. 
Jib. ii. c. 21. 12. Inathen viscera, innethron visceribus; 
like A.S. innothe, Eng. inwards. Innana signifies infra, un- 
derneath ; Germ, innen retains its simple meaning. Wachter, 
in vo., ingeniously remarks that this is maxime intus, procul a 
superficie. 

Alem. in resembles Gr. iv, which joined with a noun in he 
dative, has the character of an adverb, (as iv e-^*^, serio). 
Thus in uuaron, revera, literally, in truth ; in uuara, id. 

In Germ, it has assumed the form of ein; as eingang for 
inganc, entrance ; einfart for invart, a door, that by which 
one fares in, or enters. This preposition retains its ancient 
form in Belg. in, in, within. It is the same in composition; 
inblaazen, to blow iu, to inspire; inbrecken, to break in; in- 
gaan, to enter, whence ingang entrance, &c. 

In has had the same force in Isl., as appears from its deri- 
vatives and compounds. Inn intro; innan intra, intrinsecus; 
innan ad, ad intus ; inra, intus, hire interior, instr intimus ; 
inne domus, innbve incola; innan lands, intra regionem. 
Inna, sermonem ingredi vel ordiri, Sw. begynna, Verel. Ind.; 
wquio, G. Andr. Wachter views A.S. gynn-an, Germ, ginn- 
en, as formed by contraction from the more simple word still 
found in Isl., q. ge-innan. This seems doubtful, however; as 
r (g), and not the mutable letter G, sounded J, is the initial 
letter in ginnan, with the preposition prefixed, du-ginnan, 
as used by Ulphilas. Junius derives it from gan or gen 
ire ; especially as, in Theotisc, anageng is used for anagin 
jnitium. 

d 2 



52 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

As Isl. inn-a signifies to enter on a discourse, and is given 
as synonymous with inquio, it may be remarked, by the way, 
that the analogy between the Lat. word, and the terms used in 
different dialects of the Goth, in the same sense, is very sin- 
gular. Inquio, which is a defective verb, has apparently 
characters of high antiquity, retaining the marks of trans- 
mission from another language. Inquit, which is very fre- 
quently used by Roman writers, bears great resemblance to 
Moes.G. qnith-eith (from quith-an dicere), to A.S. czcyth, 
(V. Matt. 7- 21.) also crcaeth, from czci/th-an, aceih-an. We 
may also refer to Moes.G. quath dixit, Alem. quis dicis, 
quit dicit, qui die, quad ih dixi, qhuidit dicit, quad dixit, 
(Old E. quoth) from queth-en, qhued-an. This gives the 
strongest grounds of presumption that the Lat. verb, if not 
originally in the form of qnio, quis, quit, is radically the same 
with the Goth.; especially as the latter sometimes appears 
with the preposition prefixed, as enqucth-en, inquad-en, res- 
pondere, to speak again; whence inquad reclamabat, Otfrid; 
inckit, refertur, corresponded Notker. 

In occurs in lsl. in various compound words; as insigla 
obsignare; inbyrdis intra navem; innania to confine, i. e. 
to take in, cattle trespassing in the corn fields, &c. 

In Su.G. the particle is used adverbially, says lhre, or in 
composition. Iruu. intus, innan intra, innerHg, internus ; 
ga in intrare ; infall invasio ; inkomst reditus ; inlpenda, ad- 
venire ; inleda, inducere, &c. 

The composition of ttvav seems uncertain ; and, from the 
the use of the aspirate, it may seem doubtful if it has any affi- 
nity to m But it may deserve notice, that, as far as we can 
judge from the most ancient specimens of the Goth., it had 
been viewed as a derivative from the preposition. For Ul- 
philas translates Sm»u by inuk. As, Inuh this, * For this 
cause, shall a man leave father and mother;' Mar. 10. 7. 
mxiv t»to. This is equivalent to in thizei, Luk. 4. IS. ' be- 
cause he hath anointed me ;' ov ««*«». 



OF ^REPOSITIONS. 53 

CHAPTER V. 

Of '£*•; and Kar^. 

Etti. 

It seems undoubtedly the same preposition that occurs ill 
most of the Goth, languages, although without the initial 
vowel, and interchanging b and p as the consonant. Moes.G. 
bi, A.S. bi, big, be, Alem. bi, pi, Su.G. bi, be, Germ, bey, 
Belg. by. Ihre supposes that Su.G* bi at length assumed 
the form of wi, and then 6*f wicL 

The verb Urti t signifying to work, to handle, to follow, has 
been given as the probable root. Hence i?rt has been viewed 
as properly meaning object pressed, adhered to, or object 
touched closely. As bi is the most ancient and most general 
form of the Goth, particle, we may perhaps indulge the con- 
jecture, that the Pelasgi, before they took possession of 
Greece, pronounced the consonant in common with the 
neighbouring tribes as /3, or that the preposition had some such 
form as l£* or ebi. If the leading idea conveyed by the term 
be that of pressing, might we not trace it to €i« vis, robur ; or 
rather to the second aorist of the verb £<*#, vim affero, urgeo, 
io/*0v 9 whence £€« might be cut off? 

On the supposition, that bi of the northern nations had a 
Goth, root, it certainly would be vain to look for it, where 
Home Tooke seems assured he has found it, in byth the third 
person singular of the imperative of A.S. beon, to be j Div, 
Purl. I. 402. For, besides the difficulty of applying this 
part of the substantive verb in the various senses of be o* by ; 
byth is itself a variation from the common form of the verb 
in this mood, which is ai; and rarely occurs, not being found 
in Lye's Dictionary, but merely in the Grammar prefixed. It 
also appears unreasonable to viewfo as an abbreviation from 

D 3 



54 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

byth, as the A.S. preposition sometimes assumes the 
form of big, which it could not borrow from this term. 
Now, this form of the preposition would indicate affinity 
to some verb of which big constituted the radical part ; as 
big-an, to inhabit, to occupy, to possess, by-an id.; whence 
by, bye, a habitation, or place occupied, Isl. by, praedium, 
pagus. If we should suppose this verb to be the root, its 
general sense would correspond to the Goth, prepositions, 
perhaps as closely as that of pressing, adhering, or follow- 
ing does to the significations of fc£. Nor can it be denied 
that it conveys an idea nearly allied to that attached to the 
Gr. preposition. 

'Eni is applied to place ; to time; and to numbers. But, 
as it has been observed concerning this term, that it assumes 
a greater variety of meanings than any other preposition, 
and is substituted for many others, as for kxtu, ttx^x, farx t 
&c. ; it may be remarked, that Goth, bi, be, or pi, is used 
not only for Ini, but with a similar latitude. 

1. It denotes motion, or rest upon. ' Whosoever shall 
smite thee, bi taihszcon tkeina kinnu, on thy one cheek ;' 
Matt. 5. 39- I™ rh hfydv <n c-ixyom. The act, striking;—*- 
object possessed, or occupied, in striking, — the cheek. — 
1 Thou walkest not, bi friathzcai, according to charity/ or 
'love;' Rom. 14. 15. The motion — walking; the line to 
be occupied in walking, that which we ought to possess, — 
love. The particle in Gr. is xxtx. 

It is applied to time. ' 1 will destroy this temple, — and 
bi thrifts daga?is, in three days I will build another;' Mar. 
14. 58. used for hx in Gr. — Bi quheila niundon, * about 
the ninth hour;' Matt. 27. 46. corresponding to mg<. It 
is often used adverbially in relation to time. Bi the, ' When 
he had ended all his sayings;' Luk. 7. 1« for irsi, postquam. 
A.S. be and bi denote time. Be Cnutes dacge cinges ; Ca- 
nuti die, i. e. Canuto regnaute; Lye. Bi thacm t\ 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 55 

fjfiendum; Vivente patre ; Bed. 2* 5. Alem. bi has the 
same application. Bijaron quimit er in heira ; Post annos 
visitabit vobis ; Otfr. 1.27.56. It is also used as signi- 
fying, per, pro, propter, de, ex, ad. V. Schilter. As an 
adverb it has the sense of fere, nearly, almost. 

It may perhaps be viewed as a proof that bi is used to 
denote numbers, that it occurs in Joh. 10. 3. in this form ; 
' He calleth his sheep, bi namin, by name ;' A.S. be na- 
man ; Gr. xxt av»ft* - } one name following, or occupying 
the place of another. A.S. be is obviously used in this 
sense. Be endebyrdnysse gereht ; Per ordinem narravit ; 
Gr. Dial. 2. 3o. ap. Lye. He selte zcord be zcorde ; Ex- 
pressit verbum de verbo ; Boet. Prooem. i. e. one word 
after another. 

2. Close upon, l And when he was come near, he be- 
held the city, and gaigrot* bi tho, wept over it;' Luk. 19- 
41. Gr. in]. The act— weeping ; the object which closely 
occupied tears — the city. Ofer is the preposition used in 
the A.S. version. 'Eki occurs in a similar sense in Luk. 
23. 29. where the A.S. version has ofer. But that of Ul- 
philas is defective here. It is also used in the sense of for, 
as the translation of Gr. wreg, signifying, in behalf of. J ah 
bidjaith bi thans usthriutandam izzois ; ' And pray for them 
who despitefully use you ;' Matt. 5. 44. Here persecutors 
are represented as the object which prayer respects, on 
which the mind presses in the performance of the duty. 

He wrote, bi mik, of me, Joh. 5. 46. rre^i is used in Gr., 
be me in the A.S. version. The action, — writing ; the sub- 
ect possessed, or that which occupied the mind of the wri- 
ter, — the person designed by the pronoun me. The same 
idea of closeness seems conveyed by an expression which 



* The preterite of greit-an, where we have the most ancient proof of the 
use of the Scot, verb to greet, to weep aloud, to cry j pret. grat. 

D 4 



oS OF PREPOSITIONS. 

immediately denotes the medium of sustenance to man, 
viewed not merely as an animal, but as an intellectual 
being. ' Man liveth not, bi hlaib * ainwia, W « ?T * pi>- 
vu, by bread alone, but bi all zcaurde Goths, \x\ Trxvri \*p*.Tt 
0g£, by every word of God ; Luk. 4. 4. In A.S. bi hlafe 
anum, ac of aelcum Godes worde. The thing asserted, — 
Man lives ; that occupied for life, not bread alone. 

A.S. bi and be signify juxta, prope, clone upon, hard by. 
Bi occurs in this sense, Matt. 4. 18. in the Rushworth 
MS. of the A.S. version, when it is said that Jesus walked 
by the sea of Galilee. V. Lye in vo.— Alem. bi haben de- 
tinere, retiuere, q. to hold or occupy closely ; pi-hepida, de- 
tentio ; pi-hapari, continens. Su.G. be-halla retinere ; be- 
zcista adesse, to be present, i. e. close by, occupying the 
nearest place. Teut. by-voeghen adjungere, addere ; by-zcorp- 
en adjicere. 

3. Motion directed upon or against. * If thou— remem- 
berest that thy brother hadi ought, bi thuk> against thee :' 
Matt. 5. 23. ««t«, A.S. agen. 

'Ea-/, it is well known, is used adverbially ; as in the 
phrase W uXuHms, vere, truly. Moes.G. bisnnjai, com- 
pounded of bi and sunja Veritas, has the same signification. It 
occurs for «a»j0*?, Matt. 26. 73. &c. Bi thamrna, secun- 
dum haec, thus; bi thatei, quod, because, &c. A.S. be is 
used in the same manner. Be fullan, plene, penitus. Be 
zcillan, ultro. Alem. pi-uuarte, revera ; pi-uuruhti, merito. 

In composition, it most frequently bears the sense of cir- 
cum. As it has been observed of Ixi, diat in its compound 
state it either * signifies upon, or motion directed upon ;' we 
find bi used in a similar manner. Bi-smait, i he anointed 
mine eyes;' Joh. 9- 11- iri%#*%. — A.S. bi-libban, sustentari, 

* This gives us the Eng. word loaf in its earliest form. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 67 

4 to live by or upon ; Somner. Neotena medic hi maest bi- 
libbath ; Jumentorum lacte ut plurimum sustentantur. In 
the following passages it signifies motion directed upon. 
' And unto you that hear, bi-aukada, shall more be given/ 
or, be added, or eked ; Mar. 4. 24. i. e. blessings shall be 
heaped on you in succession. — ' And when the flood arose, 
the stream bi-stagun, beat violently upon that house ;' Luk. 
6. 48. from bi and stiguan, ire, vadere.— Bi-swarb, f she 
hath wiped my feet with the hairs of her head / Luk. 7. 44. 

Perhaps we may view the frequent use of it, in the sense 
of circiun, as a proof that it generally includes the idea of 
closeness or approximation. For circum properly respects 
that which is so pressed upon as to be completely surround- 
ed, every portion of the adjacent space being occupied or 
possessed. Thus in Joh. 10. 24. ' Then bi-runnun 'ina Ju- 
daieis, the Jews came round about/ or, ' surrounded him / 
Gr. IkvkXutoly, they shut him up on every side. 

Alem. bi has the same meaning in composition, as, bi- 
stuntun, circumdederunt ; bi-chumen, amplecti ; bi-fangen, 
id. ; pi-halsida, amplexum, i. e. having the arms close upon 
or round the neck ; whence to hah, Scot, hazvse, to em- 
brace. Su.G. be-faengd obsessus, from be and faenga com- 
prehendere, (Teut. by-vanghen) be-stalla, circumsidere, ob- 
sidere. 

Before leaving this preposition, it may be remarked that 
the Goth, verb, viewed as probably its root, has evidently- 
been of general use among the northern nations, has ad- 
mitted of a great variety of applications, and has had a nu- 
merous progeny. It has, indeed, assumed different forms-. 
But they are only variations of one common term ; as A.S. 
by-an, big-an, bycg-an, beg-an, Moes.G. bau-an, Su.G. bo r 
bo-a, bu-a, Isl. by-a, bigg- a , Alem. big-en, bu-en, Germ, 
bau-eiiy Belg. bozc-en ; signifying to prepare, which some 
view as the primary meaning ; to build ; to inhabit, occupy, 
«r possess ; to exercise - 7 to practise - r to perambulate j to 



58 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

place ; to manure; to till ; to observe ; to serve ; to worship ; 
to clothe ; to repair. That A.S. beg-an, to 'bend, is radi- 
cally the same with big-an to build, to inhabit, &c. appears 
from this, that beg-an is used in the latter senses by A.S. 
writers, as well as in the former ; and Somner, in part of the 
explanation which he gives of the term, seems to mark the 
transition from the literal sense to what may be viewed as 
the figurative ; — * to take in hand, earnestly to bend, to be 
diligent about.' As the verb in Su.G. signifies preparare, 
instruere, I am much disposed to think that, in A.S. and 
some of the cognate dialects, it also signified to make pro- 
vision for the sustenance of the body. The vestiges of thi3 
sense seem to remain in A.S. big-leofan cibare, pascere, to 
nourish, to feed ; in big-zciste and big-leofa convictus, 
cibus, ' food, victuals, meat, provision, by which life is sus- 
tained;' Somner. To these correspond Alem. bi-lifen pul- 
mentum ; Teut. by-lexen convivere, by-levinghe ususfruc- 
tus, vulgo vitalia ; Kilian. They are evidently formed from 
bi, by, big, as a part of the verb signifying to prepare ; and 
leofa life, as being that by which life is supported.* Al- 
though the Moes.G. and A.S. terms, from which the Eng. 
word loaf has derived its name, have a different orthogra- 
phy from those which denote life ; yet, if we judge by ana- 
logy, we may suppose that the latter is the origin of the 



* Junius and Ihrehave both remarked the resemblance between Moes.G. 
bau-an, Su.G. bu-a, (die latter signifying not only to build, but to repair,) 
and Gr. /3t/-*, obstruo, obturo, as applied to the stopping of chinks. Perhap3 
there is as much reason for supposing some affinity between the Goth. verb. 
as apparently signifying the provision made for the support of life, an 
life, /3/o-«, vivo ; especially as fLi*s is also explained victus, annona ; item, bona, 
facultates ; et generaliter, res ad vitam necessariae; Scapul. Somner renders 
big-leofa, cibus, annona. The Isl. verb in the pret. has bioo. Run. Ion. 
Gram. Isl. p. 100. Biot not only signifies vita, but arcus, a bow, as explained 
by some writers, who derive it from £/«, vis, robur, because of the exertion 
necessaiy in bending it. But it would certainly indicate more affinity to 
bis-an flectere, incurvare. whence, in one of its forms, the En«r. term bow. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. O'J 

former, bread being the staff of life ; especially as other 
terms were applied to food which have been formed ac- 
cording to this idea. 

I hesitate if A.S. big-an, as signifying to buy, is not to be 
viewed as originally the same word. We have examples of far 
greater obliquity, than that the idea of possession or occupa* 
tion should be extended to purchase, this being frequently 
the means of it, as one buys in order to possession. C.B. 
plan and biau both denote possession ; hence mi biau, meum 
est ; Boxhorn. 

This verb has many derivatives, some of which seem to 
confirm the idea of its being the root of the particle. What 
is the idea suggested by A.S. big-standan, stare cum ali- 
quo, to support one ; but that one keeps so close to another, 
that both, as it were, occupy the same place? Eg bi in Isl. 
is the first person sing, of the indicative ; paro, praeparo ; 
habito. The verb assumes a different form in the infinitive, 
which is bua. This more nearly resembles Moes.G. bau-an; 
but as it occurs only in the infinitive, we cannot determine 
the form of the rest of the verb. From the Isl. verb we 
have not only by, a habitation, but byamot, conventus civi- 
urn, the meeting of those who occupy in company; bya- 
mark, totius pagi possessio et fundus intra limites ; bygd, 
rus ; by-lag, lex civilis, the same with A.S. bielage, whence 
Eng. by-lazv, that is, a village-law, the law made by those 
who occupied one place. To the same origin might be tra- 
ced A.S. bi-czcide and big-cwide, big-spell, biword, and by- 
wyrd, all signifying a proverb, ' an old or common saying/ 
(Somner), aby-zvord, i. e. a village or town-word, one com- 
monly used by those who lived close upon each other. 
Wachter conjectures, with great probability, that the bee, 
Su.G. by, has received its designation from the verb as sig- 
nifying to build, because of the singular construction of its 
cells. It is unquestionable, that the name given to these 
cells, Isl. byk-ar, Teut. buyck, Scot, bike, is from Isl. bygd 



60 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

a habitation, or A.S. bicg-an to build. The Eng. word big f 
large, has still been viewed as of uncertain etymology. V. 
Johnson, Junius, &c. Might we not deduce it from the 
verb as signifying, aedificare ? We still say in Scotland, of 
one who is large and well-proportioned, that he is a tieel- 
biggit man, i. e. well-built. 

Finding no Goth, term, with k or c as its initial letter, 
which seemed to correspond to this preposition ; 1 had re- 
solved to pass it, as admitting of no proof of analogy. It 
being suggested by a friend, intimately conversant with the 
Gr. language, that some coincidence might be found under 
the letter g ; the change from * to y at first caused hesitation 
as to the propriety of the suggestion. In consequence of in- 
vestigation, however, it appeared that there was no sufficient 
cause of demur on this head. For x is often changed into g 
in the formation of a Lat. word from a Gr. one ; as guberno, 
from xvZtpeia, cygnus from kUvos, dogma from ^t%k», grabatus 
from x£ccfi/2ctTos. In the formation of the tenses of Gr. verbs, 
how often does the radical « assume the form y f 

A similar interchange of these letters occurs in the Goth, 
dialects. In many instances ka is used in Alem. for ga in 
Moes.G., and where ge occurs in modern Germ. ; as kadeni, 
extendi, Germ, gedehnt ; Kot for Got, Deus. Even in 
Alem., g and k are often interchanged. Kaba and gaba 
both signify donum, a gift; kagan and gagan, ob, against. 
As Alem. gan is synonymous with Germ, gehen, to go, it is 
also written kan ; Kant, eunt, Kero, c.65. According to 
this orthography, the third pers. sing, would be kat. 

It would seem, that the primary idea expressed by **t*\ 
is that of one object holding a certain course or direction in 
relation to another, either as parallel to it, or as in a state of 
approximation. For it properly has an active signification. 



GF PREPOSITIONS. 6l 

The course, which the one holds in relation to the other, de- 
pends on the previous situation of both. According to cir- 
cumstances, the direction may be parallel, perpendicular, or 
transverse. When the course of the one is parallel to that of 
the other, it may properly be expressed by along. Thus, to 
sail along the coast, to keep a course parallel to it, q. to trace 
its length. This includes the secondary sense of according 
to, even as applied to acts of the mind. When it bears this 
meaning, there is only a slight deflection from the primary 
sense. For it thus respects the rule in view ; marking pro- 
gress in a certain prescribed or designed direction. In the 
sense of during, it merely signifies along a particular period. 
When the direction is perpendicular, or inclined in any de- 
gree, the object is said to go or fall dozvn. This conveys 
the idea of one object coming upon another. If the course 
be transverse, the one is said to go through the other. This 
may include the secondary senses of at, and even of against. 
When one object divides another, the point of section is de- 
noted by the use of the preposition at. Even in the sense of 
against, the primary meaning is not entirely lost. For there 
is merely a change of the course. One object, instead of 
holding along with another, is viewed as taking an opposite 
direction. 

If, then, we look for kutu in a more simple form, in any 
kindred tongue, it is natural to suppose that it must occur in 
some term conveying the general idea of direction or course ; 
and that, when language became more polished, this, al- 
though originally used only as a noun, would assume the 
form of a preposition. There is one word, signifying a way, 
which has been generally diffused through the northern dia- 
lects, that might perhaps admit of such an application. In 
Moes.G. it is gatzco, in A.S. gat, gate, in Belg. gatte, in 
Dan. gade. But it appears to retain its primitive form in 
Su.G. and Is], gata; for in these languages it retains its 
most simple meaning, via, iter, Moes.G. gatwo, platea, 



62 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

seems only a secondary sense : as denoting a particular kind 
of way, one that is paved or raised. A.S. gar, if not from a 
different root, has a sense still more remote, denoting a gate, 
the zvay into or out of a house. Some, however, derive the 
term, as thus used, from Isl. gat-a perforare, whence gat 
foramen. 

Ihre not only views via as the primary sense, but deduces 
the word from ga, to go, like iter from eo. Perhaps the 
Goth, term gata, in most instances, may be found pretty- 
nearly to express the sense of kxtu. 

1. Kecrcc, along. Bin xxt ageej, ' he goes along the moun- 
tain.' ' He goes ; — direction of his going, — gata, the nay 
that he takes, — the mountain.' 

f 2. According to. ■ We know that the judgment of God is 
kxt Mtouv, according to truth;' Rom. 2. 2. i. e. God 
judges, still observing truth or equity as the direction of his 
decisions ; he ever judges in the way of truth.' — To xxt» 
m«^xov Ivxyytxtov, ' the Gospel according to Mark ;' i. e. ' the 
gospel-history in that form or nay, in which it was recorded 
by Mark, as distinguished from that which Matthew and 
the other evangelists followed.' 

S. Dozen. ' N n^>}(rs ksctx t£ x^vs ; l he rushed dozen the 
steep ;' — rushing — the act ; the gata, course, or way — the 
steep. 

4. Upon. Kxtx y« mWuf, in terrain cadere, Alex. Aphr.; 
the earth being the object of the direction of the fall. 

5. Under. k*t« y? 5 anoTtp**, sub terrain mitto ; Aris- 
toph. i. e. ' I send ; — the direction, downwards to the ground, 
till the object be covered by it.' 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 63 

6. Through. € Then bad the churches rest, *.*§ oAus t? 5 
'i*W*j, throughout all Judea ;' Acts 9- 31. i. e. the whole 
gait of Judea, the whole extent of the way through it. 

7. Dining, Kara, v'vktx 7ri7rXuvvf<.cci ; Anacr. ' I wander 
during the night ;' i. e. * My wandering continues through 
the course of night; my way+ and that of night have the same 
extent.' There is here a transition from space to time. 

8. At. EvfoTa TZrpYiTect kxtx ro A <ri)pi7ov ', Euclid. ' The 
line is cut at the point D.' ' The act— cutting or dividing ; 
the gata, direction, or course which the dividing object takes, 
—the point D ;' i. e. it makes its zcay through this point. 

Q. Against. "O ph uv fu* IpS, kxt lp£ ht. ' He that is 
not with me, is against me ;' Matt. 12. 30. i He that goes 
not in the same way with me, opposes me in mine. He meets 
me as directly, in his course, as if he meant to make his way 
through me.' The Scot, phrases, l to be, — to come, — to 
stand, — in one's gait, 9 convey a similar idea. ' He's ay in 
my gait ; he still thwarts or impedes me. 

It may be subjoined, that kutu occurs in various combi- 
nations, which might indicate affinity to gata, K«0' ccvrov, suo 
arbitrio; as we use to say, his gait, or his own way. K#0' £r, 
singly; analogous to this is Scot, agatis, in one way. Kara 
TruvTet, omnimodis, every way : Scot, algait, algatis. Our 
ancient writers likewise use thus gatis, as signifying, in this 
way ; how gatis, in what way ? sa gatis, so, or in that way, &c. 

One difficulty, however, presents itself. K*t*>, the deri- 
vative of Kxroc seems uniformly to suggest the idea of infe- 
rior position or descent, signifying infra and deorsum ; and 
of course to intimate that the primary signification of the 
preposition had been analogous. Although 1 give the term 
gata, merely because 1 see no other that has any resemblance, 
without being convinced that its claims are unexceptionable 

I 



64 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

it may be observed, that perhaps greater stress has been laid 
on the frequent use of xecrak as signifying down than it de- 
serves. Dr Moor views it as only a secondary sense ; and 
supposes that, because descent being ihe natural direction of 
bodies when left to themselves, the word which simply de- 
noted direction was applied to express this natural tendency. 
The thought, however, is rather ingenious than solid. This 
common use of the particle may have originated from some 
accidental circumstance, hidden in the obscurity of remote 
ages. The idea is sometimes inverted, kxtu. being used in the 
sense of 1x1%. Thus Aristophaues uses the phrase, Kxru 
xatfiv tft*g, aqua super manus. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Op MeT«C, fti6\ 

This preposition ' is commonly used in three different 
meanings; with the genitive denoting with, with the dative 
among, with the accusative after/ It has been deduced 
from the obsolete verb pia, J go. The " primary significa- 
tion of |KiT^/' it has been said, " most probably was a zcay- 
post, a zcay-di rector ; a sense nearly the same with what it 
still remains in Latin, met a, a goal. From this sense of zcay- 
post, or zcay-di rector, ^.iret, would soon be transferred to ex- 
press a conductor of the nay, or a guide, of whatever kind 
this might be. Our own word guide seems to have been 
formed by a similar analogy. It is guida in Italian, and 
guia in Spanish ; which last clearly demonstrates the origin 
of the whole to have been the Latin word via, a way." 
Thus, pit*, " with die genitive denotes a conductor or 



tff PREPOSITIONS, 65 

guide who accompanies us, or whom we accompany j hence 
it is usually translated with. With the accusative it deuotes 
a guide or conductor, who goes before us, or whom we 
follow ; hence it is usually rendered after. With the da- 
tive it denotes a plurality of conductors, and that we are be- 
tween or amidst them 5 hence it commonly stands for a- 
mong" It has also been observed " that, between a sjuide 
or conductor whom we accompany, and a mere companion 
in the way, the difference is very often hardly perceptible :" 
and that " it was very natural, therefore, in their mode, of 
applying ^sra, to slide from the one to the other *." 

This deduction is entitled to the praise of great ingenuity $■ 
and it must be acknowledged, that as soon as we come up 
with the guide, our way is abundantly easy. But we meet 
with several obstacles before we can get on so far. Deri- 
vations from obsolete verbs are always doubtful ; and this 
seems peculiarly so, not being supported by that of Lat. 
meta, which is viewed as a synonyme. There seems to be 
no good reason for deducing it from piu. It is either the 
imperative of the verb retained by the Romans, meto, me' 
tare, to measure ; or a word originally of Goth, origin. As 
denoting a goal, or boundary, it evidently regards something 
marked out or measured, or marked out by measurement. 
In this sense, it is a term of universal use in the Goth, lan- 
guages. It seems merely A.S. and old Teut. mete, modus, 
mensura, with a Lat^ termination, in A.S. also maethe ; 
Moes.G. mitads, mitaths, Alem. mez, lsl. maele, met t 
Su.G. maet; from A.S. met-an, maetti-ian, Moes.G. mit- 
an, Teut. maet-en, met-en, Su.G. maet-a, lsl. met-a, Alem. 
mezz-en, all signifying to measure. That Lat. mefairi, and 
Gr. plr^-uv, have had a common origin, cannot reasonably 
be doubted. From the insertion of ^ in the Gr. verb, how- 
ever, it appears less in a simple form than any of the rest, 

* Disquisitions, p. 344. 545. 

E 



66 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

All these terms indicate affinity to Heb. TTD, madad, men- 
suravit, whence "ID, mad, and »TTD, ?nadahf mensum. 

That the term, first signifying a measure, has been usecf 
only in a secondary sense for a goal or boundary, appears 
highly probable, not merely from the connexion of ideas, 
but from the use of Alem . mez in the sense of finis, termi- 
nus, as well as in that of mensura. A.S. mytha is also ren- 
dered meta, limes, finis; Lye. Isl. mid-a is explained col- 
limare, to aim at, or to hit, the mark. Dan. maad signi- 
fies both a measure and bounds. Our Scot, noun meith re- 
tains the same sense, denoting a mark, also a boundary ; 
and the verb to meith, to define by certain marks. 

It may also be doubted, whether before the use of ^i-xk, 
as a preposition, the Greeks had any way-posts erected for 
the direction of travellers \ although it should be supposed 
that, in some succeeding age, their language was so limited, 
that they were reduced to the necessity of borrowing, from 
a way-post, the name for a guide. 

This preposition, very slightly varied in form, and re- 
taining the characters of identity in its principal significations, 
appears in almost all the Gothic dialects. Moes.G. A.S. 
mith, mid, Alem. mit, Isl. Su.G. Dan. med, Belg. met, 
med, mede. It is totally inconceivable, that so many bar- 
barous nations should borrow such a necessary part of 
speech from the Greeks. The only probability is, that the 
Greeks themselves had it from the same fountain with the 
Goths. 

Whatever may be viewed as the origin of ihe Gr. prep., 
that of the Goths has probably been formed from the verb 
signifying to meet, or from some one of its derivatives. 
A.S. met-an, Moes.G. mot-jan, Belg. moet-en, occurrere; 
Su y G. moet-a, myt-a, id., also concurrere. Hire derives 
the verb from another preposition, mot, contra ; but the 
idea ought certainly to be reversed. The A.S. verb must 
also have been written mit-an. For mittinc and milling 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 67 

signify occursus, congressus. But this may be supposed 
to have been its more ancient form. 

If we view the preposition as immediately formed from 
the verb, the use of it m this sense may be admitted even 
as applied to the Gr. Thus, in the sense of with ; — Xuimt 
ippaoiro fcsrcc **&, Homer. ' Their manes were shaken 
with the wind/ or meeting the wind. Ms0* *pm notyirxG-fat 
rov aymetf ' to engage in the contest tcith us/ or, ' on our 
side/ to engage in the contest ; — meeting us, as friends. 
c O 7rotYi<rets to eXioq fx.ir ocvtovj Luk. 10. 37. 'he that shewed 
mercy on him/ The act, shewing mercy ; — the object, — - 
him met. In the same manner may we resolve the A.S. 
phrase, mith heora cyningum, cum eorum regibus, Boet. 1 . 
' their kings being met. 9 

In the sense of among. Mera n^Toio-t kmiito -, Homer. 
c He was busy among the foremost / i. e. meeting the fore- 
most ; ' the foremost being met ; or, ' he and the foremost 
concurring 9 For the Goth, verb does not merely signify 
the act of meeting another who is going in a different direc- 
tion ; but their convention or assembling ; as in Eng. we 
still speak of meeting together. Thus we say, * Whom did 
you meet 9 in such a place ? although it is not meant that 
they immediately parted, or passed each other. When I 
speak of meeting with more persons than one, it is equivalent 
to saying, that I was among these persons. 

There seems, indeed, to be every reason to suppose that 
Moes.G. mid-ja, A.S. mid or midd, A\em. mitte, isl. Su.G. 
mid y (whence our midst, middle, fyc.) as well as Lat. med-ius, 
by which they are explained, are merely from the Goth, pre- 
position used in another form, as signifying inter or among. 
This is the idea of Wachter ; who, in support of it, observes 
that the preposition, when it assumes a substantive form, de- 
notes that which is placed, whether equally or unequally, be- 
tween two extremes. Vo. Mitte. This etymon is much con- 
firmed by the affinity which may be remarked between diffe- 



68 OF PREPOSITIONS 

rent terms, one of which gives the idea of inter, and another 
that of something in the middle. Thus the A.S. verb mid* 
lifian signifies intercedere ; while its derivative mid-lifigend 
has the sense of mediator. Isl. medal signifies both inter and 
medium. V. Verel. and G. Andr. Hence medaJgangar and 
and Su.G. medlare, a mediator, one who acts between persons 
at variance. It is also to be observed, that the Isl. prepo- 
sition med is not only rendered una, together with, but contra 
against, as synonymous with mot mentioned above. G.Andr. 
p. 176. 

Moes.G. misso may perhaps, in like manner, be viewed as 
allied to Gr, pzo-og, medius. As h pivo signifies inter, misso 
added to plural pronouns has a similar signification. It has 
generally the preposition du to, or mith with, prefixed ; as in 
Mar. 9. 34. ' They disputed, du sis mkso, among them- 
selves.' But it also occurs by itself. Galeikai sind barnam 
—zvopjandam seina misso ; * They are like unto children- 
calling to one another ; Luk. 7. 32. loquentibus ad invicem ; 
Jun. Gl. It has been justly observed, indeed, that misso has 
the force of Lat. met in \\>semet, temet, &c. as in the phrase, 
Luk. 10. 29. ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour, szce thus 
missan, as thyself.' But the learned Ihre ascribes to it the 
power of a preposition, signifying inter, when used, without 
declension, in the form of misso. Ulph. Ulustr. p. 177. I 
strongly suspect that Lat. met is itself a relique of the gene- 
ral preposition ^st* or met, which originally had been affixed 
to plural pronouns only, in the sense of inter, as denoting as- 
sociation or co-operation ; and that after the original meaning 
was lost, when it came to be viewed by orators or grammar- 
ians, according to its modern explanation, as a mere orna- 
ment, it was improperly adjoined to pronouns in the singular, 
as to ego and te, where it lost the signification it bore 
conjunction with se. Whatever may be thought of this con- 
jecture, it can scarcely be doubted that se-met is perfectlj 
analogous to sis misso, ' among themselves/ It may 



OF PREPOSITIONS. . 6Q 

added, that, as Moes.G. and A.S. mid corresponds to Lat. 
med in mediator, as has been already shewn, it affords a 
strong presumption that misso is analogous to Gr. pur- in 
f4Er-/T»!5 id. 

If a noun should be preferred as the root of the prepo- 
sition, one may be found which will express its common sig- 
nifications at least equally well with the verb. This is Alem. 
mate, maet, socius, sodalis, Isl. Su.G. mat, maet, id. Teut. 
maed, med-maet, socius, collega, sodalis, aequalis, compar; 
Kilian. Hence, as he observes, it has been supposed that 
the Zeelanders were by Tacitus called Matiaci from their 
social concord. In modern Sax. the synonyme is maat, in 
Germ, matz, in Eng. mate. G. Andr. explains Isl. maate 
as also signifying amicus : Their eru miklar maatar, sunt 
oppido familiares; Lex. p. 1?6. In the same language 
moetu mau.tr signifies conviva; in Su.G. diskamaet, patinae 
socius, one who eats out of the same dish. 

This term has by Casaubon been deduced from Gr. ptrcc, 
as ' conveying the idea of social conjunction and partici- 
pation.' Skinner and Wachter derive it from AS., maca 
socius, supposing c to be changed into t. But. though the 
term does not appear precisely in this form in A.S., there 
is reason to think that it had been formed from the verb met- 
an, common to all the Goth, nations. Ge-met,ge-maet aptus, 
conducens, is evidently the participle past of met-an invenire, 
concurrere. This, as applied to a person, would denote one 
exactly answering the wishes of another, one fit for some 
particular purpose ; or to a thing, one matching another. 
In general, it signifies what is meet ; according to the sense 
pf the E. term in which ge-met is transmitted. As A.S. 
piaca, Su.G. make, have been used to denote a companion, 
primarily signifying equality, the term mate seems to have 
been thus appropriated from an idea perfectly congenial, that 
of meetness or correspondence. Thus ge-maet is rendered by 
Lye, mensura aptus, that which corresponds to something 



70 OF PREPOSITION »• 

else in measurement. For it ought to be observed, that it is 
the same A.S. verb, met-an or ge-met-an, which, according to 
the judgment of all the lexicographers, not only signifies to 
meet, invenire, but to measure, metiri ; whence E. to mete. 

In the word maet, then, without any circuitous process, 
without the slightest change of meaning, we find the guide, 
the conductor, the companion, supposed to be referred to by 
the preposition ^zret. Thus, in the sense of zcith; Mir* nxd- 
t«vos ediKiiv, ' to do injustice zcith Plato ;' — to do injustice, — 
Plato companion or mate in doing so. Mst* ^dfiiruv elidm, 
Anacr. ' singing zcith the lyre;' — ' singing, — companion/ or 
as expressed by Mr Bonar, l accompaniment, — the lyre.' 

As signifying among. m«t« T^roTa-i kovuto; ' He was 
busy among the foremost ;' — ' he was busy,— mate to the 
foremost.' So also in the phrase rendered,' I will devour No- 
man last among his associates ;' — ' companions in destruction 
—his associates ; or — ( mate in destruction to his associates.' 

As used in the sense of after. U^orh f&h innm, pzxa, oi 
n<pos linno-xi^a*. Homer. ' First the horse, and after them 
followed a cloud of foot soldiers ;' — ' first the horse, — and a 
cloud of foot soldiers followed — as companions or mates/ 
In the same manner might the idea be applied to most of 
the illustrations given of the use of ptT*, without greater in- 
flexion, as to meaning, than is necessary in the use of the term 
signifying a guide. 

It is full time, however, that we should attend to the use 
of the Goth, prepositions, in proof of their identity with the 
Gr. one ; if any further proof should be deemed necessary. 

1. They frequently occur in the sense of rath. l Agree with 
thine adversary quickly, while thou art, in zciga mith imma t 
in the way zcith him;' A.S. on zcege mid him ; Isl. enn a 
veige med honum; Matt. 5. 25. u t>T <$» far uvr»v. i. e. ' in 
the way,— meeting him ;' or, ' he being thy mate in the way.' 
yer. 41. ' Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go, 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 71 

mith imma, with him twain ;' A.S. mid him ; Isl. med honum ; 
Or. pir clvtoZ; — go two miles, he being thy companion. 9 — 
' It is he that talketh, mith thus, with thee f Job. 9- 37. t^rec. 
o-ov. It is he that talketh ;— -companion in talking — thee.' 
With, which is perfectly equivalent, is the preposition here 
used in the A.S. version. : Andse the with thesprycth. — ' He 
looked round about on them, mith moda, ivith anger ;' A.S. 
mydyrre\ Isl. med reidesvip ; Gr. per ^y?5 ; Mar. 3. 5. 'He 
looked round about;— his obvious accompaniment in looking 
« — anger.' 

Su.G. medhas the same signification. Hawi bonde hem- 
ma medh sik fataeka manna lot ; Habeat colonus secum 
pauperum portionem ; Leg. Upland, ap. Ihre. It also sig- 
nifies juxta. Fara ut med hafsstranden, littus legere. 

This preposition was used by old English writers so late 
as the time of Robert de Langland, towards the close of the 
fourteenth century. It occurs frequently in Piers Plough- 
man's Vision, generally ascribed to him ; as in the following 
line ; 

And al the might myd him is, and makes hem merry 
thermyd. 

2. It occurs, though not so frequently, in the sense of 
among. c Murmur not mith izz&is misso, among yourselves ;' 
Joh. 6. 43. per tkxxtxuv. ' Murmur not ; — one meeting 
another,' or e being another's mate in murmuring.' — f Do ye 
enquire, mith izwis misso, among yourselves of that I said V 
Joh. 16. 19- pir aAA«A<yy.— •' He came unto the sea of Galilee, 
mith tweihnaim markom, through the midst of the coasts of 
Decapolis;' Isl. midt a medal ; Mar. 7. 31. ' He came 
unto the sea of Galilee ; companions— the coasts of Deea- 
polis,' they being still as it were with him in his way. Were 
veto take the A.S. verb met-an, in another of its senses, and 
apply it here ; perhaps it would correspond still more closely. 
This is, to measure. ' He came unto the sea of Galilee ; 

E 4 



72 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

the measure of his course the coasts of Decapolis.' The Gr. 
phrase, avx pio-ov, here used, seems literally to signify, by or 
along the line measured or marked out, so as equally to divide 
the one coast from the other. Thus Ulphilas renders it, ' be- 
tween the two boundaries' or ' marches.' In A.S. betzcux 
midde endas. The preposition betzcux is evidently formed 
from be in, and tzceg two, or as retained in Belg. tzcisschen. 
Thus, Moes.G. mith tzceihnaim differs from betzcux only in 
having mith prefixed to the noun, or preceding it, instead of 
be; tzceihnam also signifying too. It must be observed, 
however, that as inter does not seem to have been the pri- 
mary or the most common meaning of the preposition, we 
can hardly view it as formed from the verb, as signifying metiri. 
Used adverbially, with thanei following, it frequently oc- 
curs in the sense of dum, interea dum, cum, in the mean while, 
q. in medio temporis ; synonymous with A.S. mid tham the, 
quando, cum. But I have not observed, that, like pint, it ever 
properly signifies after. Teut. mids dot is rendered quando- 
quidem, eo quod, quia. Midsgaeders, the same with med- 
gaeders, simul una, una cum. One of the uses of ptrx is ptrsi 
rtvo$ ihat, cum aliquo esse, ab alicujus partibus stare ; Isocr. 
AVe have a parallel phrase in Moes.G. ' My Father, mith mm 
ist, is with me ;' J oh. S. 29- p-^ if* " *& J not merely as deno- 
ting presence, but perpetual support. lu Isl.it is, Hann er 
med mer, i he is with me.' 

As ftiTK is sometimes used, in its simple state, in the 
sense of in, Moes.G. mith has this signification in compo- 
sition. ' That disciple, — mith- inngalaith mith Iaisua, went 
in with Jesus;' Job 18. 15. Gr. o-vms-tjxfa t& 'ir.cS. 

In composition, also, Moes.G. mith retains its primary 
sense of cum. i Many other women, mith-iddjeddun im- 
ma, came up, or went, zcith him unto Jerusalem ;' Mar. 
15. 41. A.S. hym mid-ferdon, ' fared with him;' in Gr. 
fvvxvctQxGrcu *vt* . In one passage mid is used by Ulphilas 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 73 

/or mith in the formation of this verb. ' Many of his dis- 
ciples, mid-iddjedun imma, went with him;' Luk. 7. 11. 
A.S. mid himferdun ; Gr. <rwi^ro^vovTo uuru. 

In A.S., mid occurs in composition, in the same sense, 
more frequently than in Moes.G. ; as mid-blissian, con- 
gaudere ; mid-fleon, convolare ; mid-Mite, consortium ; mid- 
rade, co-equitatio ; mid-sprecan, colloqui ; mid-standan, 
adsistere, assentiri ; mid-zvyrcan, mith-wyrcan, co-operari. 

Alem. mit occurs very often in the sense of cum, mith ; 
sometimes as equivalent to apad, also to per. Mit cuato 
muato, cum bono amico. Mit kiratida, cum consilio, &c. 

As Isl. med and mitte signify cum and inter, medan is 
used in the sense of interea, interim, quasi in medio tem- 
pore ; G. Andr. p. 1/6. Medal, inter; Verel. Su.G. med 
alia, penitus, with all ; med-skyldig, culpae affinis ; Ihre. 
Dan. med-arbeider, to co-operate ; med-arver, to be a co- 
heir ; med-borgcn, a fellow-bail ; med-borger, a fellow citi- 
zen ; med-folger, to accompany. Teut. med alien, omnino ; 
met eenen, simul una, pariter ; med-deylen, participare ; med- 
stemmen, consonare, &c. &c. Germ, mit, with. Gott sey 
mit euch ; God be with you. It occurs in the same sense 
In the composition of many verbs. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Of Uu^u. 

Mr Bonar supposes that this preposition has been c an 
old substantive noun, denoting precisely side or Jlank.' He 
at the same time admits ' that no direct examples of n*^*, 
\m this form of a noun, are to be found/ observing, how- 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 



ever, that ' traces of the same signification occur in some 
of its immediate derivatives.' Among these he reckons *-«- 
piu, a cheek, and in Latin, par, equal ; ' the former de- 
noting »the side parts of the head, the latter an object cor- 
responding side for side with another. As, therefore/ he 
subjoins, f the English preposition beside is nothing but a 
contracted form of being side, that is, being the side of an 
object ; so the Greek preposition *•*£«, beside, may justly 
be set down as a noun signifying side or flank ; and from 
the different aspects under which an object may be viewed, 
as occupying the side of another, the different applications 
of nx^x take their rise/ 

We can scarcely form the idea of any hypothesis, that 
more closely corresponds to the senses in which the inge- 
nious writer has viewed the Greek preposition. But we 
often find it necessary to acknowledge, not without regret, 
that theories of this kind resemble the fairy palaces that we 
have been acquainted with in our early years ; which, not- 
withstanding all their bewitching splendor, and the Elv- 
sian beauties that surround them, if their stability be put 
to the test of a single word of fearful omen, leave not a 
trace behind. Hence the eye, so fascinated but a moment 
before, can discern nothing save the treacherous marsh or 
the barren heath. Of the noun, necessary as the basis of 
this fabric, there are no traces in the Greek language. 

No aid can be derived from the use of par in Latin. For 
we have no more evidence of its Gr. extraction, than of 
the existence of *-«g« as a noun. Had it been originally- 
Greek, it is by no means probable that a term of such ge- 
neral use, in social intercourse, would have been dropped 
from the lauguage. It must at any rate have remained in 
some of its combinations. It seems to be either of Celt, or 
of Goth, origin ; or perhaps, like some other radical terms, 
to have been common to both languages. We find it in 



OF PREPOSITIONS. *75 

the same form as in Lat., in old Brit, and Armor., in Su.G. 
Isl. and Germ. 

There is also ground for considerable hesitation as to 
that which is given as the primary sense of *«£«• It un- 
doubtedly signifies beside. But as, with the genitive, it de- 
notes motion from, and with the accusative motion to ; it 
seems very doubtful, whether the idea of proximity, as that 
state from, or to which one removes, be not of a secondary 
kind, and borrowed from the sense which the particle bears 
with the dative, as signifying with, by, or beside. One of 
the examples given of this sense has in fact been viewed as 
a proof that, with this case, it denotes motion. "E<pvi x^vati 
tmu ttx^oc T Krcrx^m a? iKitevz ; Xen. Anab. ' He said that 
they must go, whom he had commanded to go, to Tissapher- 
nes.' Gr. Part. p. 38. The termination of their journey, 
or motion, seems to be the primary idea. They were not 
to rest till they came to Tissaphernes. Perhaps it may be 
said, that motion is the sense in which the term most gene- 
rally occurs. 

It is admitted that, in composition, it frequently changes 
the sense ; as Xoyifypcti, ' I reckon/ Trx^xXoyifypxt, ' I. rec- 
kon falsely, I misreckon/ This arises from its being used 
in the sense of from, as denoting departure. The resolu- 
tion evidently is, ' I. reckon from, or azvay.' 

I do not pretend to substitute any Gr. etymon with cer- 
tainty. There are others, however, which seem preferable, as 
not resting on mere supposition, or on assumption from ana- 
logy. The preposition generally conveys the idea of place : 
and we learn from the Scholiast on Aristophanes, that tts^sc, 
conatus, incoeptum, also signifies locus. This was proba- 
bly an ancient sense, as being applied to the first thing done 
in the Pythian games, which was to purify the place. V. 
Scapul. 

The connexion of %»§», as to its general application, with 
W$», and vi%dc*, both signifying transeo, is obvious. The 



76 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

change of vowels, it is well known, is common, though the 
root be the same. 1 do not say that *-*$« had its origin from 
either of these verbs. But as it will be seen that this pre- 
position has various cognates in the Goth, dialects, it is not 
improbable that it was formed from some word common to 
the Greeks and Goths. No one seems to have a better 
claim than the verb used by all the Gothic tribes to denote 
motion : Moes. G.far-an, A.§.faer-en, far-en , Alem. Germ. 
far-en, Isl. Su.G. far-a, Dan. far~er, ~E.fare, Belg. vaer-en, 
all signifying ire, to go ; A.S. fare, for iter, expeditio, ' a 
journey, a voyage,' Somner ; Isl. faur, far, Alem. fara, 
Su.G. faerd, id. The terms last-mentioned also signify 
course, mode of procedure ; manners, conduct. The A.S. 
cognate, fa re, signifies family attendants ; as used by Aelfric, 
and by Caedmon the oldest A.S. writer. The Longobards 
used fara, phara, for a generation, a family ; as we learn 
from Paulus Diaconus, Lib. 2. c. 9. 

Notwithstanding the change of the labial, p being a letter 
scarcely used by the ancient Goths, there is great reason to 
think that their verb was radically the same with n^du and 
vril^u. It not only bears the same general signification ; but 
the derivatives of both exhibit strong indications of affinity. 
As from Su.G. far-a, ire, foer-a ducere is formed, and fora 
vectura, also, modus agendi ; so from ku^u the Greeks form- 
ed xo£-« 5 transitus, -xt^uet, profectio, iter ; iu-xo^-o^, vector 
qui mare trajecit, Homer. Odyss. mercator ; viator ; (with the 
Scots a farand-man, Isl. far menu nautae) ; *o(>-iov, navi- 
gium trajiciendismilitibuscomparatum, Diod. Sicul., a trans- 
port-ship (Su.G. far-are nas'is, faer-ia navis trajectoria,yber-a 
trausveherej ; a-oggv?, qui aliquem trajicit, portitor, (a ferry- 
man,) Hesych. From the same verb they also formed x«- 
£vtpoLi proficiscor. The verb <p/§», fero, porto, seems to 
have had the same origin ; whence $»%<*, portatio, latio, and 
qoyot. navigium ; Isl. far and feria, id. I cannot but ob- 
serve, however, that both the Gr. and Goth, terms, which 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 77 

change e or » into o or oe, bear a great resemblance to 
M.oes.G.faur ante, also signifying place, region, as denot- 
ing motion forward, or from a place ; as there can be no 
doubt th at fanr assumes the form of for, fore, for -a, in A.S., 
and of foer in Su.G. Yl^-cLa, transeo, retains nearly the 
form of the Isl. verb, first person singular of the indicative? 
fer, eo. I need scarcely add, that \aX. fer-o,ferre, to carry, 
has the very form, as well as the signification, of the Goth, 
verb ; as it borrows its preterite tali from another verb of 
the same stock, Moes.G. thul-an, A.S. thol-ian, Alem. 
thol-en, Su.G. tol-a, Scot, thole, ferre, perpeti. If, there- 
fore, it be supposed that nct^a originated from m^ua, transeo, 
or some verb signifying motion, and common to the Greeks 
and Goths in an early period, such as fara ; or from a noun, 
of a similar meaning, as vo^Tx, or fara ; the idea suggested 
will apply to the most common acceptations of the preposi- 
tion. Because of the latitude with which terms come to be 
used in their secondary or oblique senses, instances may be 
found of there being scarcely any apparent relation between 
these and what is undoubtedly the root ; while it is perfectly 
conceivable, that a lively fancy, or an ingenious mind, may 
hit on another term, which seems far better adapted to in- 
clude the various significations, although certainly no wise 
allied. 

Let us for a moment suppose fara, signifying journey, 
progress, course, also mode, manner, conduct, to be the 
preposition ; and try it by some of the examples given in the 
explication of v«g«. 'To construct a parallelogram upon a 
given straight line ;' — ' to construct a parallelogram, — course 
in constructing it, — a given straight line/ In like manner, 
' the complements of a parallelogram' are the parts which 
extend as far as the course or direction of the given line. 
They may thus be called the course-filers, with as much 
propriety as the side-filers. ' The market-place which was 
formed beside the ships ;'— •< The market-place was formed. 



78 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

—course of its formation— the ships ;' being constructed 
along the harbour. That beautiful line, 

B« y a.Kim 7rx%& Siva, no?ivq>Xoi<r&oio 6ccXecra-4s, Homer. 



may perhaps be rendered, ' He went in silence along the shore 
of the far-resounding ocean.' ' He went, — course, the shore.' 
This was the line, the boundary of his progress. 0so$ i£«x£s> 
ttcc^x to piyi&ot; tZv TMr^uypivm ; Lucian. i I seemed a god 
for the greatness of my actions/ ' I seemed a god, — 
course of action producing this estimation, — my greatness.' 
'E(tt< x} it*£ Ipol rk ty*mi£t* ; Demost. ' There is also some 
experience on my side ;' literally, ' with me.' May he not 
be viewed as asserting his possession of this, as necessarily 
arising from his course in life, his many opportunities from 
his public conduct ? Perhaps it deserves to be noticed, that 
the very term here used by the orator is evidently of Goth, 
extract, 'e^tts^*, experience or skill, is from l» and *•£?£*, 
also signifying danger, experience, the latter being often the 
fruit of the former. But there can scarcely be a doubt, that 
this is originally the same with Su.G.^ra, experiri ; which, 
I suspect, is merely an oblique use of the verb as signifying 
ire ; agere *. 

Some of the passages, in which the preposition is viewed 
as signifying close beside, to which the idea of course or pro- 
gress cannot be so well applied, might easily be resolved by 
taking the liberty, often claimed by others, of calling in the 
aid of the same noun fare or far a, in the sen«e of comitatus. 
But we must return to the Gr. preposition, in order to com- 



* Since writing this, I observe that Schilter must have had the same view. 
For he gives fara, tentatio, periculum, and fuarun tentarunt, under faran 
ire. It may be observed that Gr. <xu%a, signifying periculum, experieutia, 
primarily has the sense of tentatio. Ihre, however, gives Su.G. fara, pericu- 
lum, as a derivative from the verb which expresses the idea of /cur. 



OF PREPOSITIONS* 79 

pare it, as explained to our hand, with the cognate Goth, par- 
ticles. 

If allowance be made for the change of the vowel, per- 
haps it might be viewed as some confirmation of the sense 
given to *r*g«, of side or flank, that sr^s is used by Thucy- 
dides to denote the sea-coast; ora maritima. This word 
being formed from ws/gw, transeo ; shall we suppose that it is 
radically allied to Isl. fiara, littus, littus universum ? V. 
Verel. Ind. This, it is highly probable, is the same with 
the first part of a compound word, to which we shall have 
occasion to refer afterwards, Moes.G. faurmarein, locus 
maritimus, the sea-coast. 

n«£» seems to claim as its kindred Moes.G. faur, faura, 
signifying ante ; juxta, secus ; a, ab ; AS. for, in composi- 
tion fora, prae, coram; juxta; Alem. fora,furi, ante, prae ; 
trans ; Su.G. foer, foere, anciently for, ante, prae ; Isl. fra, 
de, e, ex, ab, abs, absque, (G. Andr.) for, firi, fyri, prae, 
ante ; Teut. veur, Germ, fur, Belg. Door, id. From what 
we have seen as to the application of the compound term 
faurmarein, it is highly probable, that, before the use of 
faur, or faura, as a prepositiou, it had been a substantive 
noun, not simply signifying place, but place before, in rela- 
tion to some other object viewed in connexion. The use of 
the Su.G. term foere in composition seems to confirm this 
idea. Notat, says Ihre, motum de loco, ut uppfoere sursum, 
utfoere deorsum, nedanfoere inferius. Sic Isl. foer utan. 
ulterius. Here foere still denotes the place left ; the pre- 
position conjoined with it determining the quarter to which 
motion is made. 

The Moes.G. preposition, it would seem, had also the 
form of fair. This is overlooked by Junius, Hickes, Lye, 
Benzelius, Ihre, and all the writers I have seen on this sub- 
ject. It occurs, indeed, in the Codex Argenteus only in 
three instances. But by comparing these with the corres- 
ponding terms in other northern languages, I am satisfied 



$0 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

that fair was used by Ulphilas as equivalent to faur. Fair- 
greipands occurs, Mar. 8. 23., in the sense of apprehenden s. 
' He took the blind man by the hand.' Also fair-graip, chap. 
5. 41. apprehendebat, Now fore is substituted, although 
not in any of these passages, in the A.S. verb of the same 
signification, which occurs in the past participle, fore-gripen 
apprehensus; also in for-gripan apprehendere, praeoccupare. 
Somner explains the participle, ' prepossessed, taken afore- 
hand.' Thankjms fair-haitei ; ' Does he thank,' or * give 
thanks r' Luk. 17. 9. Here Junius refers to hait-an vo- 
care, jubere, rogare. The compound word seems radically 
the same with A.S. fore-gehat promissum, promissio, for- 
haten praedictus, Teut. ver-heeten promittere. The other 
term is fair-zceitjandona, used to denote the fixing of the 
eyes. ' The eyes of all — were fastened on him ;' Luk. 4. 20. 
as formed from fair and zcitan observare. This seems ori- 
ginally the same with A.S. fore-zcitan praescire, Su.G.ybe;- 
weta, Teut. veiw-zceten, id. 

There is no ground for hesitation, with respect to the 
affinity between faur a, &c. and *•*§*, from the difference of 
the initial letter. The change seems to have been effected 
by the Greeks themselves. We know at any rate, that the 
change from tt to <p, which is merely Goth.y, was very com- 
mon with them ; as of «tto to «p, \*\ to i$, Sec. 

n*g« has been explained as signifying, with the genitive. 
from beside; with the dative, close beside; with the accusa- 
tive, motion beside , or to beside. 

1. From beside. Faura seems to admit this sense in Joh. 
12. 36. 'These things spake Jesus and departed, and hid 
him self, 'yi//f/Y7 im. beside, or more strictly,y}ow before them; 
in A.S. from hym ; ls\.fi/rer theim ; Gr. ainxSuv ix^iln «%•' 
uvrav. It must be acknowledged, however, that this pre- 
position seems more certainly to express the idea of proxi- 
mity of position than vx^x. — 'Thou hast hid these things, 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 81 

faura snutraim jah frodaim, from the wise and prudent;' 
Is), fyrer spekingwn og vitringum; Luk. 10. 21. — At sat- 
quhith faura liugna praufetum ; ' Beware of false,' or ' lying 
prophets ;' i. e. attend so as to keep from beside them; Matt. 
7. J 5. In these passages xtto is used in the Gr. In the Isl. 
version it is ; Balded ydur fyrer falspamenum, i. e. false 
spa e- men, a term commonly used by our Scottish writers. 
To this day, a female fortune-teller is vulgarly denominated 
a spuy-wife, 

2. Close beside. * Bartimeus, sat faur zcig, sat by the 
highway side ;' Mar. 10. 46. that is, close by it ; nx^x tkv o$h. 
The same phraseology occurs, both in Moes.G. and Gr. in 
Luk. 18. 35. — ' We shall all, gasatjandafaur stauastola 
Christaus, stand,' or more literally, ' take our place before 
the judgment-seat of Christ ;' Isl. fyrer Christ i domstol; 
Rom. 14. 10. nxgoHrrnropiQu. rS fivipxTi ; that is, immediately 
before it. — 'Jesus — took a child, and, gasatida faura sis, 
set him by him,' that is, ' close beside him ;' Luk. 9- 4?. 
*x( Uvr&. Faura occurs in Mar. 5. 21 ; ' He was faura 
marein, was nigh unto the sea side ;' n*?a, ih B-xXxa-s-xv ; in 
A.S. embe thasae, secus mare. 

3. Motion beside, or to beside; c He walked, faur marein, 
by the sea of Galilee;' Mar. 1. 16. nx^a rhv S-xXxo-o-xv. From 
the comparison of this passage with Mar. 5. 21., quoted 
above, where faura is used precisely in the same sense, it 
has been observed that faur and faura have not always that 
difference of signification which some have supposed, but 
are used promiscuously. V. Ulph. Iilustr. p. 173. — Jak 
thai, faur agangandans, ' And they that passed by/ or ' be- 
yond the place where he was, railed on him; Mar. 15. 29. 
*x£X7r<>^vopivo;.—Jah in maurgin faurgangandans, ' And in 
the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig-tree dried 

F 



82 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

up from the roots •,' Mar. 11 . 20. *xtetmpvoutiu 9 as before. 
Here also J aura and J aur are used as synonymous. 

4. It has been observed that nu^a, sometimes signifies, on 
this side, and sometimes beyond. Faura and faur are thus 
used in composition. The following passage may, I think, 
be viewed in this light. l A great multitude of people out 
of all Judea and Jerusalem, and, a f thize faurmarein, from 
the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidou,— came to hear him ;' Luk. 
6. 17. ttc/^xxUv. In A.S. sae-gemaere, that is, the sea- 
boundaries. Faurmarein is a term evidently formed like 
Trct^otXio? ; and refers to the country on this side of the Me- 
diterranean, in relation to Galilee. 

5. In composition, it sometimes denotes position before or 
close beside another object. * Into whatsoever city ye en- 
ter, — eat such things as are, fauralagido izicis, set before 
you' : Luk. 10. 8. exactly corresponding to the Gr. word 
used v*#prt6iftim j A.S. eozo toforan aset ; Isl. fyrer ydur 
verdur frammsett. So also in Mar. 14. 69. ' And a maid 
saw him again, and began to say to them, f'aurastandandam, 
that stood by ; Gr. ttx^^kos-iv. 

6. It also, like the Gr. preposition, changes the sense. 
' They all with one consent began, faurquithan, to make 
excuse;' Luk. 14. 18. from faur and quithan, which sig- 
nifies simply to speak, to say ; analogous to the term in the 
original 7rx^cttri7c-6xi, deprecari, the sense of etW'-u, peto, 
being changed by Travel. In faur-biudan we have an ex- 
ample of the use of a word in a sort of intermediate sense, 
in its transition to that in which it admits of a complete 
change. I need not say, that the northern terms, corres- 
ponding to Eng. forbid, in general shew a total change of 
the meaning of the verb to bid. In the Moes.G. the com- 
pound is used only as stronger than the verb in its simple 



OF PREPOSITIONS. SS 

state ; yet with such emphasis as to imply something accom- 
panying the injunction, equivalent to a commination. ' He, 
faurbauth im, commanded them that they should take nor 
thing for their journey ;' Mar. 6. 8. Gr. Trx^yyziMv. In Luk. 
5. 14. where the same Gr. term occurs, it is said, Faur- 
baad imma, l He charged him to tell no man.' 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Of n^«, ir't^ety; Tit^ii ^e} i and 2yy. 

Ug^«, -n-t^ecv, ultra. 

This preposition has met with less attention from philo- 
logists than some others, as occurring less frequently. Did 
we seek an origin for it in the Gr. language, perhaps Wg#, 
transeo, might seem to have a pretty good claim. It is, at 
any rate, highly probable that this particle has entered into 
the formation of *-sg«« transeo. q. vi^x-io, I go beyond. 
Perhaps it may be viewed as a confirmation of this etymon, 
that as v'i^etv is the preposition in different places in the New- 
Testament, in relation to crossing the sea, or any body of 
water, as in J oh. 6. 1. 17.— IS. 1. the verb 2*«?r£ga«> is used 
in the same sense, Matt. 9. 1. ' He passed over.' n's^, 
finis, terminus, has also strong marks of propinquity ; q. 
the point beyond which one may not go, the boundary of 
going. 

Tn confirmation of this, it may be observed, that Te'c^drn, 
tilterior, formed from the preposition *%&, is used substan- 

F 2 



84 OP PREPOSITIONS. 

lively for xi^xs, finis, extremum. Nvktx t uh h ^rsga-nj }oXt%n* 
r]$hv •, Homer. Od. if/. It is also used by Apollonius to 
denote the boundary of the horizon towards the east. s H»s 
s* Tr^flcrii? ccniSG-ot ; Argon, lib. 1. 

Ui^cc governs the genitive, signifying beyond, Kxi r^r» 
ft* ?reg« irpGecfnu -, ultra hoc uon progredi ; Aristot. Poiit. 
lib. 6. It has also the sense of supra ; Ut^x «»^*jra, su- 
pra hominem ; Philostr. in Her. ni^x *-/$*«$* supra fidem. 
But its primary application is to place. The use of rap* 
is restricted to this. U^xv 'lv^Z>, ultra Indos ; Aristot. de 
Mundo. n'c£xv BuTido-cK, ultra mare ; Thucyd. 

Three prepositions are used in Moes.G., which appa- 
rently claim affinity with ri^x and ttyti. These are fra, 
fram, andfairra, all used in the sense of a, ab. The sig- 
nification of fra nearly resembles that of ir'-^x : and we can 
easily suppose that what was originally fera, equivalent to 
7ng#, would, per crasin, be pronounced as fra. 

In the Moes.G. fragments fra is found only in its com- 
pound state. In Joh. lGu 12. it is used in the translation of 
0x*x£ii*, to carry. Here it has obviously a figurative sense : 
' I have yet many things to say unto you, but, ni maguth 
frabairan nu f ye cannot bear them now.' Verelius (Ind.) 
explains the Moes.G. term by Sw. franbairan and baera 
fran, to carry forth, q. to carry k'-^xv. — Frabugajidans sig- 
nifies sellers, Mar. 11. 15. from fra and bugan to buy; q. 
those who buy azcay, . who part with their commodities in 
barter with others. Verelius explains the term, gifzcafran 
sig f to give from one's self. In a secondary sense it signi- 
fies to forgive, that is, to give anay, or from one's self 
what another is owing to one ; as in Luk. 7. 42. ■ He, 
bairn fragaf frankly forgave them both/ Gr. fgpg/ncrit 
the word frankly being introduced in our version to express 
the force of this. — Luk. 19. 8. Fragilda fdurfalth, * 1 re- 
store fourfold,' literally I pay from me ; like the term in 
the A.S. version a-gyfe; Gr. «*■«$<$#,«<. — Fro-faint prima- 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 85 

rily signifies demittere. ' At the feast the governor was 
wont, fraletan bandjan, to release a prisoner;' Matt. 27. 
15. from fra and letan, mittere; literally to send from. 
Hence, in a secondary sense it is used to denote forgiveness, 
which is a release from debts whether pecuniary or moral. 
Kunnan, to know, with fra prefixed signifies to contemn; 
as in Luk. 18. 9- ' He spake this parable unto certain— -fra- 
hunnandans thaim antharaim, who despised others;' who 
knezc them only so far, as to avoid them, to keep them at 
a distance. This idiom is retained in Isl. Jirirh anna , ignos- 
cere. Firirkunnit mik eigi ; ne mihi vitio vertas, ignoscas ; 
Verel. Ind. — l It were better for him, that he—frawaurpans 
wesiy were cast into the sea ;' Mar. 9- 42. i. e. cast jorih. 
Sin is expressed by an idea similar to that conveyed by Lat. 
transgressio. As zzaurkjan is to work, with fra prefixed, 
it signifies to sin. Franaurhta mis, ' I have sinned ;' Matt. 
27.4. I have wrought frowardly or perversely ; from, or 
in opposition to the precept given me, beyond the mark. 
In the same manner is quithan, dicere, loqui, changed by 
having fra prefixed ; fra-qnithan, maledicere. A.S. for- 
wyrcean, and Is\.Jirivraeka^ perdere, are cognate terms, al- 
though with a slight change of signification. 

A.S. and Isl. fra signify a, ab, abs, ex, de. Isl. fra- 
leitur, adversus ; frasnuen perversus, from the preposition, 
and snua verti, q. to turn or be turned the wrong way ; fra- 
verandr absens, literally, being from ; til og fraa, citra, re- 
troque, to and fro. For the old Eng. preposition had pre- 
cisely the same sense. Thus fro ye is used by Chaucer in 
the sense of from yon, in old Scot, fra, in modern frae. 
Isl. Fra is explained in Gl. to Edda, not only by ab, but 
by praeter, ultra. Fra thui sem fyrri var ; supra id, quod 
prius erat. Sol. xl. 4. 6. 

Su.G. fra, fran, id. Taga fran andra, aliis abripere. 
Franhaest, equus qui dexterior currui jungitur, the far- 
horse Scot., as opposed to the ner-horse* 



S6 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

Moes.G. fairra has also great resemblancefto m^a, both 
in form and in meaning. i And there was a good wav, 
fairra im, off from them, an herd of many swine;' Isl. 
langt i hurt fra theim; Matt. 8. 50. This is equivalent to, 
* a good way beyond them/ or i beyond the place where they 
were. — Afleithith fairra mis, ' Depart from me/ Isl. fared 
fra mer; Matt. 7. 23. q. ' go to a distance, beyond my 
presence. — ' She departed not, fairra alh,from the temple/ 
Luk. 2. 37. She went not beyond the precincts of that 
holy place. — ' He entered into one of the ships which was 
Simon's, and prayed him, aftiuhan fairra statha leitil, to 
thrust out a little from the land/ Isl. at legga lit id fra 
lande; Luk. 5. 3. that is, to go a little farther, than they 
formerly were, beyond the boundary of the shore. The ad- 
verb fairrathro, a long&, is very similar to mpunqm, ' ulte- 
rius, amplius ; on the farther side, more/ 
- Ihre views fairra as sometimes used by Ulphilas for fra ; 
referring, in support of his assertion, to Luk. 2. 37. above 
quoted. They so completely agree in signification, that fra 
might almost be viewed as an abbreviation of fairra. The 
affinity of fra to xi^cc may be illustrated by the use of Isl. 
fra-baer, excellens, alios omne antecedeus. This resembles 
the use of the Gr. preposition ; *Vg* ay^e^if, supra hominem ; 
ni^cc tx Aoya, supra quani dici potest. Isl. fiara also sig- 
nifies superare, to gain over, to overcome. Hon fiarade 
honom upp ; persuasionibus ipsum captivavit. Verel. Ind. 
Alem. fiara id. In fiara, seorsim. 

Thaz lazen sie in uuara 

thia ungilouba in fiara. Otfr. v. 7- 1-S. 

i. e. that they may make thy unbelief to cease ; literally, 
leave thy unbelief at a distance or far off. Hence, as would 
seem, Alem. far, an adjective. Germ, feier, signifying traMe 
quillus, otiosus, semottis, (Schilter), die idea of tranquillity 



OF PREPOSITIONS. §7 

being borrowed from that . of distance from other objects, 
such at least as might cause disturbance. We may add fir a, 
cessatio ab operis ob cultum divinum, festum, in Jjait.feria. 
To the Goth, preposition signifying longd a y we are also 
to trace Alem. ferron, and Germ, fern, which . nearly re- 
semble Wgesv, and Su.G. Jiaerran, procul, longe, a loco re- 
mote. Komma jiaerran ifron, a locis remotis venire : Ware 
Jiaerran fran mig, procul a me absit. An is a suffix in 
Su.G. and Isl. denoting motion from a place. 

Ut^cAv, it has been observed, with the article assumes an 
adjective form ; o iri^ow, ulterior, qui in ulteriore parte est ; 
qui est e regione ; 4 ni%xv o^h, ulterior ripa ; r» ^mv, quae 
sunt in adversa parte. Fairra is thus used by Ulphilas, 
Luk. 15. 13. ' The younger son — took his journey, hi 
land fairra, into afar country ;' A.S. onfeorkn rice. The 
Eng. phrase, still in use, retains the idiom of the ancient 
Goth. Hence the Germ, use of the term fern, procul ; 
Ausfernen landen, ex regionibus longinquis ; Deut. 29. 22. 
Both lhre and Wachter view these northern terms as allied, 
not only to ?rsg«, but to ir&tf» procul, also to Lat. porro, id. 
I need scarcely observe that A.S. feor, feorran, Germ, fer, 
Belg. ver, verre, Scot, fer, and Eng. far, all acknowledge 
the same origin. A.S. feorran not only signifies procul, but 
porro, l furthermore, moreover ;' Somner. 

Before taking our leave of Fairra, it deserves to be re- 
marked, that as Gr. ^ros is viewed as a contraction of yrgo- 
ictros, (a superlative apparently formed from 7rg>, whence 
tt^Wos), our Eng. word first seems to have been formed in 
a similar manner, originally denoting what was most remote, 
or farthest off, in respect of place, hence transferred to time. 
A.S. feor signifies procul, far; the superlative \s feorrest, 
sometimes used adverbially, longissime, at other times as 
an adjective, feorraesta dael, extrema pars. The compara- 
tive was feorre, farther. The Alem. shews the same a- 
calogy. As furij fury signify prae, ante, the comparative 

F 4 



S3 OF PROPOSITIONS. 

is furira, anterior, the superlative fnrist, furista, primus, 
supremus, summus ; Kero. Hence the name given to a 
prince, cier F'drst, i. e. the first person. This mode is re- 
tained in Germ, vor, z order, and vorderst. Isl. fyrr, fyr, 
prius, anterius; item, remotus ; fyrre, fyrstr prior primo ; 
Gudm. Audr. p. 71. Fiaerri, remotius,fiarst,fierst, remo- 
tissime, Verel. Ind. ; q. the farthest back. Su.G. foer, 
ante, comparative foerr, prius ; superlative foerst t primus. 
Thus, it appears most probable that Lat. primus itself has 
been the superlative of pri, the old form of the preposition 
prae, as Festus observes on Privignus; prior, prius, being 
the comparative. It is evident, then, that first has been 
formed precisely in the same manner with its synonyrae /ure- 
most, only w :th a different termination. For, to fore, signi- 
fying priority in place, or as to time, we must trace former 
and foremost, as the comparative and superlative. This 
analogy appears also in Moes.G. Frumozo signifies prius, 

Rom. n. T>5. Aiththau quhas imma frumozo -; 

1 Or who hath first given unto him ?' This is supposed to 
be from the adverb frumo, of which the superlative is fru- 
mist. Matt. 8. £1. Fan, uslaubei misfrumist (({.foremost) 
galeithan jah gafilhan attan meincuia ; * Lord, suffer me 
first to go and bury my father.' Frum, frums, initium, is 
viewed as the radical word. V. Ulph. Iilustr. p. 106. We 
may add, that as Su.G. fram signifies prorsum, hence are 
formed framre ulterior, framor ulterius, fraemst primus. 



This preposition has by Scheide been deduced from w^mm, 
transeo, * from which he supposes that an obsolete noun, 
rt-r£<5, has been formed,' having in the dative mp. Mr Bonar 
views it as an immediate cognate of *ie_x$, a boundary, and as 
probably the dative of this very noun, contracted from * 
and 7r'i$xt ; explaining it the containing boundary. It liaa bt-eu 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 89 

justly observed, that this etymon is materially the same with 
Scheide's, who explains srsgi as denoting penetration to the ut* 
most boundary, or the circumference of a thing. From what 
has been already noticed, on the preposition *-s£#, it is obvious 
that sr/g<e?, a boundary, and *■*£*'», transeo, are intimately allied. 

It deserves to be mentioned that the Moes.G. contains a 
substantive exactly corresponding to the sense of both'**sgi 
and vi^ocq. This \sfera, occurring only in the plural, partes, 
termini, limites; Jun.-Gl. — Mar. 8. 10. ' Reentered into a 
ship, — and, quam ana fera Magdalan, came into, or on the 
parts, or ' confines of Magdala.' It does not appear that 
this term has been retained in any of the other northern 
dialects; unless Isl.fiara, littus, be originally the same word, 
as denoting the boundary of the sea, also, the reflux of the 
sea, and the place of this reflux, the zcater-mark. V. Gudm. 
Andr. p. 6S. The Moes.G. term is viewed by Schilter as 
allied Xofiarra procul. May we not suppose, that Lat. pan 
has had the same common source with this and ?rag#s ? 

The Goth, preposition which most nearly resembles wig 
is Isl.fi) i,fi/ri. Hi%}, both simply and in composition, de- 
notes excess, or superiority, marking the highest degree ; as 
iri£iXvnrosy valde tristis, ?rsg/e§yos, nimis curiosus. Thus Is!. 
vera firi signifies praesse, praesidere, exactly consonant to 
ipm'npt, superior sum, supero, antecello, also, abundo ; firi" 
ganga, praeire, firigangsman, antecessor, alicui rei praefectus ; 
fyrikongr, inter alios reges eminens; fyribeistast, praesse. 
Su.G. foer is used in the same sense. As wacker signifies pul- 
cher, foeni'acker is perpulcher; from mycket much, by pre- 
fixing the preposition, foer mycket is formed, denoting excess, 
nimium, too much. As m^li^os respects one who goes about 
a piece of business, but does not apply to it, idle, trifling; firi- 
nemast signifies negligere, apparently from the preposition and 
nerna capere. In the use of this prefix, there appear also 
some vestiges of what has been considered as the primary 
sense of itzg 7 — circum ; as infirileitinn, circumspectus, pro- 



90 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

vidus. I hesitate, however, whether^n here ^oes not rather 
signify pro before, than circum. 

Tig>, Lat. Pro, Prae. 

This preposition has been deduced from the adjective tx^ 9 
before, contracted ***<>?, having in the dative n^o, signifying, 
with a substantive understood, the fore part, fore object, 
1 object in front.' It is used in relation to place, as ' applied 
to objects fronting each other, or to some placed before 
others in the order of succession.* This is considered as its 
primary signification. It is also used in relation to time ; as. 
denoting defence or protection ; and preference. 

The Moes.G. preposition corresponding to this is un- 
do ubtedly f a ur,f aura. We have already illustrated the con- 
nexion between this and tx^». But Ulphilas evidently uses 
it in two different senses. Some learned northern writers 
have distinguished between faur and f aura ; explaining faur 
as expressing the force of Lnt.pro, Eng. for, and faura as sig- 
nifying, prae, ante, before. V. Benzeiii Annot. iu Johu. 10. 11. 
Ulph. Illustr. p. 87. But it has. been already seen, that they 
are used by the bishop of Moesia promiscuously. The cor- 
respondent prepositions hi the other dialects are, A.S. fur, 
fore, in composition ahofora, pro, prae, ante, coram ; Alem-. 
fora, furi, 1st. for,Jiri, fi/ri ; Su.G. for, foer ; Germ, fur, 
vor; Teut. veur, voor, id. Eng. fore, in composition. 

1. In relation to place, as conveying the idea of fronting: 
as, 'Err.Ki ireo t£ TvXavog ; ' he stood before the door.' — ' He 
gave to his disciples, atlagidedeina faur ; jalt atiagidedun 
faur tho managein, to set before ; and they set before the 
multitude;' Mar. 8. 6. A.S. toforan asettan; lsl. at their 
legdn—fyrer folked. The preposition, which occurs in 
the Gr., is **$» in a composite state ; vrx^xiSct — x*^k*i> 
rf ##xa>. The noun, signifying multitude, is the origin 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 91 

of the Scot, term menyie, old Eng. meyny, used in the same 
sense ; also of the modern word many. This passage would 
apply equally well as an illustration of *•«£«, in sense 2. 
In Moes.G. a street is denominated from the circumstance 
of its being in front of the door. ' Go your ways out into 
fauradaurja, the streets;' Luk. 10. 10. By analogy of for- 
mation, in A.S. fore-dure signifies a porch, a vestibule ; Is!. 
fordyre, corresponding to Gr. ne) B-v^av, prae foribus, Swed. 
farstuga, id., Isi.fyrirum, locus in nave primus, q. the first 
room. Su.G. stafoer en, stare ante aliquem. 

£. Signifying before, as denoting progression. Jah silba 
fauraquimid, l And he goeth before him ;' Luk. 1. \l.gaeth 
toforan him, A.S. Isl. munfyrer honum frammganga ; Gr. 
Tr^nXiva-itea ' And they were in the way going up to Jeru- 
salem, and Jesus, faurbigangands ins, went before them ;' 
Isl, geek fyrer theim; Mar. 10. 32. ^odym xvrhq. — ? When 
he putteth forth his own sheep, faura im gangith, he goeth 
before them;' Joh. 10.4. A.S. gaeth beforan hym; Isl. 
gengur harm framm fyrer theim; Gr. 'i^Tc^ocrkv <zvrco» na^iviTou. 
A.S. fore-gangan also signifies praeire,- Alem. forauuesert 
praeesse, furif alien praevenire, Isl. verafiri praeesse, firigan- 
ga praeire; Su.G. Jag kom foer an tu; veni te anterior, 
vel ante te. 

3. Before, as to time; as, 'Eygvsro Trfi tS TraAg^s; ' it hap- 
pened before the war.' — Faur hanins hruk, ' Before the 
cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice ;' Matt. 26. 75. in Gr. 
w$/v, which is often used for v{o : — f Art thou come hither to 
torment us, faur mel, before the time V Matt. 8. 29- *£• 
xott£ov. — Faur thizei Abraham waurthi, imik; ' Before Abra- 
ham was, I am/ Joh. 8. 58. Here it is also used for ?r§ii>.-— 
Whatever \\2LS,fauragamelith, written aforetime, was written, 
for our learning ;' Rom. 15. 4. Gr. ff-gagyg^. Faur in 
composition has the same signification. Faursnau, ' She 



92 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying ;' Mar. 
14. 8. *{*&*&. A.S. for an iu h/afmaessan ; ante festum 
primitiarum ; Chr. Sax. A. 913. Aleni. fora einero citi des 
imbizzes, ante unam horam refectionis ; Kero. Isl. forda prae- 
cavere, forda Ij/fe, cavere vitae, forfana praeoccupatio dam- 
nosa ; firimana praevenire, antevertere, fyrirskipan prae- 
ord'\nalus,fi/riraetlan praedestinatio. Su.G. foer. Han kom 
foer tzca dagar sedan; ante biduura venit ; Ihre. 

4. rr§o is also used to denote defence or protection. n^» 

t£v TTXidav xxi tuv yvmixoov p.<Lyji.<rfai y l to fight ill defence of 

wives and children.' The idea of protection is obviously 
borrowed from one standing before another as to place. In 
this sense we may view the bnguage used, Mar. 9. 40. ' He 
that is not against you, four izzcis ist, is on your side f that 
is, will stand for your defence, will take part with you; Gr. 
IttI^ hpm !<tt<. This idea is, in more instances than one, sug- 
gested by the use of faur in composition. ' He laid it in 
his own new tomb,— -faurzcahtjands staina mikilamma, roll- 
ing a great stone to the door of the sepulchre ;' Matt. 27. 60. 
Gr. 7rgocr*yA;W? •, that is, in front of the door, for defence 
against those who might wish to carry away the body. Fan- 
rahah, and fanrhah als, denote ' the veil of the temple f 
Mar. la. 38. Matt. 27. 51. the curtain meant to guard the 
sanctum sanctorum from the eyes of those who ministered in 
the holy place ; from faur ante, and hahan suspendere, like 
Dm.forheng, and Belg. voorhang, a veil. 

A.S. fore-breost is compounded after the same manner ; 
pectorale, * a breast-plate, or defence for the breast,' Som- 
ner; and/bre burh pro-murale, q. a defence for the wall or 
fortification. The preposition for is used in this sense iu its 
simple state, as signifying, ex parte. l\ e beoth for i 
Stabimus a vestra parte; Nicod. 17. Franc, furidennan 
defendere, Gl. Mons.f urisprechun, id. properly, to speak in 



OF PREPOSITIONS. $3 

one's defence. Su.G. laegga sig nt foer en, intercedere, op- 
posite) velut corpore tueri ; Hire, vo. Foer. 

5. Preference, 'a^t^ •*£<> xppetrw,-* virtue before riches.' 
The idea of preference is evidently borrowed from that of 
literal precedence, one going before, or taking place of another. 
It is retained in the composition offaur,faura ; as in fan- 
raganga, Luk. tf). 1. a steward, one who is preferred be- 
fore the other servants, on whom they all immediately de- 
pend ; also in fanrabathja princeps, from the preposition 
and biud-an jubere ; and mfaaramatlileis, Luk. 8. 41. 49., 
the designation given to * the ruler of the synagogue/ cor- • 
responding to a,^m in the Gr. This word is from mathls 
forum, q. the place of speaking, from mathljan loqui. 

In A.S. we have for 'e-standan, praestare, praeesse, ybre- 
sligan znteceMere, fore-beon, ' to be afore or above another, 
to be in authority, to have charge or bear rule, to be set 
over,' Soniner ; fore-sittan, praeses, praesidens ; fore-steora, 
proreta, ' the ruler or guide of the foreship,' id. &c. Franc. 
foraferio, id. proreta; Alem. forapercthtida, praeclara; 
foreteison, duces ; furisezzan praeponere; Isl. fergangumadr, 
antesignanus, praeses, also villicus ; foringr, autesignanus, 
formadr gubernator, &c. Su.G. foer is used in the same 
manner ; foer man, praefectus, praeses, foerstandare guberna- 
tor, imperator, jfbmte, rex, &c. 

6. ng> also denotes substitution, being equivalent to for, 
or instead of ng> miTos S-anTv, ' to die for one's children ;' 
Eurip. A similar transition is here made, as in the two 
significations last mentioned, from the primary sense in re- 
lation to place. He who does, or bears anything instead of 
another, puts himself in his place. i I lay down my life, 
fauro tho tamba, for the sheep;' A.S. for minum sceapum ; 

Isl. f/rer saudena ; Joh. 10. 15. v^le, rav ttpoSxtm. The 
same phrase occurs ver. 1 1. But instead of f aura lambe, as 



94 OF PREP081TI0NS, 

in Junius, the genuine reading, according ^o Sotberg, is 
faur lambe. Ulph. lllustr. p.t88. Perhaps this is also the 
case as to ver. 15. although not mentioned. — ' Destroy not 
him with thy meat, faur tlianei Christ us gasttalt, for whom 
Christ died;' l$\.fyrer hverti Christur er duinn, Rom. 14. 
15. Gr. wareg oJ X^io-rag aie'ifon. A.S for is equivalent. * Arche- 
laus reigned in Judea, for thaene Herodem, in the room of 
Herod;' Matt. 2. 22 — Eage for eage, aiut toihfor toth ; 
1 eye for eye, and tooth for tooth j' Matt. 5. 38. In the Isl- 
version, augafyrer auga, taunnfyrer taunn. A\em. fora and 
furi have the same application. Fora diem, pro ipsis; Kero, 
c. 10. Furi sih gisprehhe, pro se satisfaciat. 

This comparison illustrates the justness of Mr Bonar's re- 
marks, that" our Eng. preposition, for, appears to have a 
similar origin with the Greek ar^o ;" and that u for in Eng., 
and nrfo in Gr., and pro in Lat., as well as the Ger. vor or 
fur, means, in its radical sense, position before." 

This preposition has been derived from <rv», to sen', or to 
join together, which, though obsolete in Gr., is supposed to 
be retained in Lat. sao. si* denotes junction in place, time, 
and modes of action. 

The affinity between this and any Goth, preposition, is not 
so obvious as in some of the examples given above. But 
by several learned writers the particle sam or sama, having the 
same signification, is viewed as radically one. 2w, we kno\v r 
iu composition often assumes the form of <rvu ; as in rju-Zxnv, 
rvp-£stx*a, cvp-QiZctga, &C. &c. : and Festus informs us that 
Ennius, the ancient Roman poet, used scan for the analogous 
Lat. prepositiou cum, which seems to indicate that it had a 
common origin with <rlv. It has been supposed that the 
Greeks converted the s or sibilation, iu sam, into the aspirate 
in m»», ««*, simul; as they sometimes interchanged the 



OF PREPOSITIONS. $5 

and as the Latins formed their super, and sub; from Gr. 
wr*g and v7fo, by substituting the sibilation for the aspirate, it 
being admitted that this was customary with them. Lat. 
simul has been traced to the same source with sama. Instead 
of Su.G samman, suman sometimes occurs : Dela theer 
suman ; si inter se litigent ; Dal. LL. ap. ihre. 

1. It denotes junction in place. • 'Eg^^uste ifim? tw cot ; 
Joh. 21.3. ' We come with thee.' — l Jesus saw that the 
people, samathrann, came running together ;' Mar. 9. 25. 
isrwtwTgsjgpi, — ' One of the scribes heard them, sama-sokjan- 
dans, reasoning together ; Mar. 12.28. Gr. <rv£*r*vTm. A.S. 
sam-hiwan, co-domestici, conjuges ; samm-ian, congregare ; 
A\em. sam-an id., kesemane concilium, Notk. Isl. saman, \mh 
collectio ; in composition sam, samsaete concessorium ; sama 
stad, eodem loco ; Su.G. samquam conventus, samwiste, so- 
cietas. 

2. It is used in relation to time. 2«v tf Wvs<V «Wifo; 'he 
went away in time of supper.'— A.S. samod signifies simul, 
at the same time. Forweorthath samod, peribunt simul, Psa. 
36. 40. Seofon winter samod; septem annos simul ; Caedm, 
88. Alem. samoso simul. Isl. saman, Su.G. samt, id. Geek 
han nu fiora daga i samt ; tres dies continuo ambulavit ; 
Halfdans Sag. 

S. It is applied to modes of action. 2yv a-o) pct%9ipw f c I 
would fight with your aid.' — Dene and Engele wurdon sam- 
maele aet Oxna-fortha ; Dani et Angli facti sunt Concordes 
apud Oxnafordam ; Chr. Sax. A. 1018. Samod-arisan 
consurgere ; samod-blissian, congaudere ; sam-rade, uno con- 
silio ; sam-wyrcan co-operari. Isl. samlag consortium, sam- 
toeck conspirationes, samlynde concordia ; samning pactum, 
at samij pacisci, pangere foedus ; semsa compono ; samband 



9Q jOF PREPOSITIONS. 

conventio ; samthycke consensus. Su.G. *ams concors, 
unanimis, saemja unio. 

ihre, and some other writers, have remarked the striking 
coincidence in the formation of Gr. words with <?vi, and of 
northern words with sam; as *tp&ft«, consilium, Su.G. 
samrad; p-vubSda-js, conscientia, Su.G. samirete ; o-u{Airo<ri«y, 
compotatatio, samdryckia. To these we may add a-vno-tia, 
comedo, Isi. sameyte communio ; crw^voi coaetaneus, Isl. 
samtida, id. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Of *r*% and 'y™. 

According to the order observed, only two Gr. preposi- 
tions remain for consideration, vxsg and vttI. There can be 
no hesitation whatsoever, as to the close affinity of both to 
various prepositions in the northern languages. But,' as 
inl^ and Itto throw an almost unsurmountable bar in the way 
of the philologist, from their being evidently allied in the 
most intimate manner as to origin, although directly opposed 
in signification ; the very same difficulty retards him in his 
Goth, investigations. 

Mr Bonar and Professor Dunbar agree in viewing the 
preposition ka as evidently originating from the adjective 
Itto?, signifying high ; and in\% ' formed from the same root/ 
as ' denoting an object higher in point of place or situation/ 
Mr Bonar thinks that " the application of the two preposi- 
tions, though originating from the same root, was reversed ; 
in the one case the attribute being referred to the noun pre- 



t)F PREPOSITIONS* 97 

ceding, in the oilier to its co-relative, the noun following. 
In these, therefore," he says, " there is no contradiction, but 
merely a diversity in the mode of application. High and 
lozc, above and under, are merely relative terms. When one 
object is lozv or under in reference to another, this last, of 
consequence, comes to be high or above in reference to the 
first. Such a position of two objects, therefore, may be 
equally expressed by saying, that the first is above the second, 
or the second is under the first. In the preposition v*r*-g, the 
Greeks used the one mode of expression ; in the preposition 
Ivrb the other." 

This idea will appear more clear from one of the illustra- 
tions given, in which both the prepositions occur. Kxi rh 
vtfi^ y»s >§ Cri yh x^vvov, l the gold both above and under the 
ground ;' — ' the gold,— higher in respect of the ground, and 
the gold in regard to which the ground is higher .' 

The mode of solution, adopted by my ingenious friend, 
had occurred to me, before I observed that he had made use 
of it. But it seemed necessary to reject it on several grounds. 
One of these is, that which I have since found mentioned by 
Professor Dunbar. " These ingenious remarks," he says, 
" da not appear to me to convey a correct notion of the pre- 
position v7rl ; for, I apprehend, we must join it as well 
as v7r«g with the preceeding noun, if we pay any regard to the 
cases which it is said to govern." Least of all can we admit 
of an inversion in the one case, which is directly opposed to 
the sense of the very same word in the other, only as ex- 
pressed in the comparative degree. Besides, such a violent 
inversion is totally incongruous to the common modes by 
which men express their thoughts, especially in a more 
simple state of society, such as that in which we may suppose 
the prepositions of any language to have been formed. In 
an instance of the kind referred to, violence must be done to 
thought itself. 

Nor can I entirely subscribe to the opinion of the last 

G 



9S OF PREPOSITIONS. 

mentioned learned writer ; especially in as far as the Greeks 
are concerned. It seems, however, to come very near the truth. 
■' As — high and low are relative terms ; so also are higher 
and high ; what is raised higher must be above the other 
object, and of course the latter will be under it. I, there- 
fore, imagine that the Greeks, when they began to use the 
preposition v-xig in the sense of higher or above, lost sight of 
the radical meaning of vt«, and used it in its relative situa- 
tion to va-sg, as denoting under." " These — conjectures," he, 
with great candour, subjoins, " may lead to something better 
in the investigation of other languages more ancient than the 
Gr., to some of which that beautiful language is probably 
indebted for many of its simple terms." 

It seems most probable, indeed, that the Greeks received 
both t»7rg£ and vnb, from a more ancient people, in the senses 
in which they used them, without forming either from inf. 
For the existence of this noun rests on mere supposition, it 
being confessedly obsolete. The difficulty, arising from the 
contrariety of the significations of v«r^ aud vt«, is not remo- 
ved by the supposition, that the Greeks, " when they began 
to use v7i-s£ in the sense of higher or above, lost sight of the 
radical meaning of £3-9." This conjecture is liable to more 
objections than one. It must be supposed that they had in- 
troduced vtto long before fcrcg. This cannot well be imagined ; 
for as soon as any people formed a particle signifying under, 
they would find equal necessity for another, as its correlate, 
signifying over or above. It can scarcely be thought, that 
so acute a people as the Greeks would form a comparative, 
and even add a superlative, from vto^, without paying the 
slightest regard to the obvious relation which Itto is supposed 
to have had to this adjective. It has been assumed, that, in 
the formation of their comparative, they first made it ■. 
£0$, and afterwards reduced it to vxe.es, whence the preposi- 
tion fait is said to come ; and that die superlative was ori- 






OF PREPOSITIONS. 



99 



ginally Ittotxtos, afterwards contracted into v7recro$. This 
only shews that a fabric, the basis of which is mere suppo- 
sition, cannot easily reach its proper elevation without similar 
contributions from the regions of fancy. For this assump- 
tion seems to contradict the evidence of facts. We have no 
right to take it for granted, that the comparative was wro«g«s, 
and the superlative vkotxtos, when we have incontrovertible 
proof that they actually assumed the form of m^n^as and 
v7r'i£TXTos i signifying, as these degrees ought to do, superior 
and supremus. These terms thus proclaim their immediate 
descent from bvi£ •> and this, of itself, affords a strong presump- 
tion that the preposition did not owe its origin to the Greeks. 

It may be inquired, however, What then was the origin of 
these particles ? and, How can we account for the use of the 
one in a sense so different from that of the other ? There is 
less difficulty in answering the first of these queries, than the 
second. But, although we cannot attain to certainty in a 
disquisition of this kind, some degree of light may perhaps 
be thrown on the second, from what we consider as the only 
answer to the first, which seems to have any verisimilitude. 

It has been observed by one, whom Professor Dunbar 
seems justly to design an " ingenious and learned friend," that 
in Moes.G. ' uf- — signifies under, whilst ufar, its compara- 
tive, means over J 9 When he speaks of Inl and wrlg " stand- 
ing related to each other as comparative and superlative 
words," it must be from mere oversight, instead of positive 
and comparative. This opinion, indeed, as he observes, " is 
strongly confirmed by a singular coincidence, both in regard 
to meaning and mode of structure, in the most ancient dialect 
of Gothic that remains*." ■ 

The same literary friend has gone a step farther. " The 
root," he remarks, " of all these prepositions, both Greek and 
Gothic, is in all probability a verb common to both during 

* V. Dunbar's Exercises, p. 140,-141, N. 

G 2 



100 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

the earlier stages of their existence. This verb, or more 
properly, this past-passive-participle, is still to be found in 
some of the compounds of hafian, levare, erigere, tollere, 
under the form hof ; and it is to this that the English are in- 
debted for their hove, hoven, &c. the participle and preterite 
of heave." 

The acute Home Tooke has thrown out a similar idea. 
Speaking of the origin of head and heaven, he says they 
" are evidently the past participles heaved and heaven of 
the verb to heave ; as the A.S. heafod, heafd, caput, and 
heofen, heafen, coelum, are the past participles of the verb 
heafan, heofan, to heave , to lift up. Whence," he subjoins, 
" vfon also may easily be derived, and with the same signi- 
fication # ." 

He takes it for granted, indeed, that vfan, vfa, was an 
" A.S. noun," signifying altus, high, adding ; " But I be- 
lieve that vfon, vfa ; vpon, vp, means the same as top or 
head, and is originally derived from the same source f." As 
he views vfa as originally, a noun, he gives vfera, and vfe- 
maest, as the comparative and superlative, signifying altior, 
ahissimvs. There can be no doubt that vfer, also vfera, is 
the comparative, and vfemaest the superlative, retained in 
Scot, uvar upper, and umast, ttmaist, uppermost, words quite 
common in the northern counties. But I hesitate as to the 
proof, that what was used in place of the positive invariably 
had the form of a noun. 

The idea of the relation in degrees among the different 
particles, not only in Gr. but in the Goth, dialects, is what 
one would wish to find verified, because it affords a pleasure 
to the mind not communicated by solitary terms. But, in 
searching for truth, we are bound to view the subject in 
every possible light. It has been already seen, that the rea- 
soning in favour of vin.% being formed by the Greeks as the 

* Divers, of Purley, I. 455. f Ibid. p. 45*2. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 101 

comparative, is by no means conclusive. The proof appears 
less doubtful with respect to its Goth, formation. Yet two 
difficulties occur. The first is, that it would rather induce a 
suspicion that the Goths did not form this term from uf or 
vfa, as a comparative, that in Heb., "D#, eber, not only sig- 
nifies transitus from the verb abar, transiit, but is often used 
as a preposition in the sense of trans, citra, over. Pers. 
avar, and abar, also mean over. This circumstance would 
indicate that the preposition has had the highest antiquity. 
The other difficulty is of less weight. Although, in A.S., 
ufer and ufar are commonly used in the sense of superior, 
the preposition does not once occur in either of these forms, 
but is invariably written ofer. But as ufar is the form in 
Moes.G., it may be supposed that, in the lapse of ages, the 
Anglo-Saxons having accidentally changed the sound of u into 
o, their writers gave both these terms according to the com- 
mon pronunciation ; never once imagining, perhaps, that 
they were originally one. Thus, what is over in old Eng., 
that is, upper, in Scot, is uvar. 

These difficulties, however, only affect the derivation of 
v?rs£ and ufar, and their relation to l™ and uf\ but neither 
the origin of the latter, nor their affinity to each other. There 
seems, indeed, to be every reason to suppose that b%b and uf 
had the same Goth, origin. The idea, formerly mentioned, 
that hof is the root, is by no means improbable. It may 
perhaps merit observation, that in Isl. several primitive terms, 
expressive of something elevated, appear in the form of huf, 
or nearly so: as, huf conus, summitas, Gudm. Andr. ; huf, 
trabs excavata quae tecto templi incumbit ; huf a, tegmen 
capitis; Verel. Ind. The aspirate, it may be supposed, had 
been thrown away. But this hypothesis is not necessary ; as 
there are other Goth, words, that might furnish an origin for 
the preposition perhaps equally probable, where there was 
no occasion for even so slight a change- As in Isl. yfer 
signifies super, supra, the verb yfast is superbire, Su.G. 

g3 



-} 



102 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

yfic-as. It may be observed that in Isl. y, adhere used, is 
equivalent to w. V. Gudm. Andr. p. 185. Ihre indeed views 
this verb as formed from upp sursum, super, in the same 
manner as the Latins formed superbire from their preposi- 
tion super. He admits, however, that the term in a physical 
sense signifies, to swell. We may, therefore, view it as radi- 
cally the same with Isl. hef-a, haefv-a, levare, tollere, only 
without the aspirate. Su.G. ypp-a signifies elevare, in altum 
tollere ; whence ypper praecellens, yppare praestantior, ypp- 
arste praestantissimus ; and perhaps yppig superbus. A.S. 
yppcin aperire, detegere, may have had a common origin ; 
for what is it to open, but to remove that which covers, or 
is above? It also signifies prodere, to give up. 

Enough has been said with respect to the origin. Let us 
now enquire what reason may be assigned for the use of vx« 
and uf, in a sense so different from that of vn-sg and tifer; 
proceeding on the supposition that they all had a common 
root. Although it appears unquestionable, that l™ and uf 
had the same origin, this difference between them may be 
discerned, that while the origin of the former is merely in- 
ferred from its resemblance to £*■!$, the particle uf in fact 
betrays its origin, in various instances, when found in a 
composite state ; still reminding the reader of the idea of 
elevation, and resembling a prisoner chained to the ground, 
who by his struggles to raise himself testifies how indignantly 
he feels his degradation. Hence we may warrautably con- 
clude, that, in its original use, uf signified above ; and that 
it came only in process of time to have the seuse of friar 
affixed to it, from its being employed as the correlate of 
vfar. 

Thus in Luk. 4. 11. Ana handun thuk nf-habaml ; ' In 
their hands they shall bear thee up.' "A«g«, tollo, is the Gr. 
verb. The Moes.G. term is from uf and haban tenere, q. 
hold up. Uf-hropjan has a similar signification, uf corre- 
sponding to «y* ; and conveying the idea of ascent or motion 

\ 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 103 

upwards. Uf-hropida Iaisus stibnai mikilai ; * Jesus cried 
with a loud voice ;' Matt. 27. 46. «vs£Ve,- i. e. he raised or 
lifted up his voice. Uf-hropida ; i He cried out :' Mar. 1 . 
23. «v/*g«|s. The same terms are used both in Moes.G. 
and Gr. Luk. 4. 33 ; 8. 28. This analogy appears also in 
the use of the synonyme uf-ZQopjan, exclamare. Jah uf- 
wopida stibnai mikilai ; i And she spake out with a loud 
voice;' Luk. 1. 42. *nq>avwt. This term also occurs in 
chap. 8. S. It corresponds to «vs£oVe, Luk. 9* 38. In the 
Isl. version, it is kallade upp. — The same verb appears in the 
form of ubu-hzcopjan, chap. 18. 3S. for 1£oW; he zvhooped, 
this being evidently the origin of the Eng. verb. Ubu is 
used for uf, as abu for af. 

Uf-graban might seem to express the same idea,— -from 
the preposition and graban, fodere ; q. to dig up, as those 
who dig throw up the earth. It is used Matt. 6. 19. to 
denote the act of thieves in breaking through, corresponding 
to 2;o£vrritri. But nf here seems rather analogous to Lat. 
e, ex. Hence the term is rendered, effodere ; and in the 
Cambridge copy of the A.S. gospels, where Ulphilas uses 
itf-graband, of-delfan occurs. Lye renders it effodere, to 
dig out. It corresponds to Gr. U, Ig, when the verb uf- 
rakjan, to stretch out, is used. This verb occurs in Matt. 
8. 3. Mar. 1.41; 3. 5. Luk. 6. 10; 5. 13. where it is in- 
variably used for 'Uninw. It may be thought, however, that 
the idea of stretching out, in the cases referred to, as that 
of the withered hand, included that of previously lifting up. 
As Ulphilas uses uf-sneithan in the sense of occidere, lite- 
rally to cut off. In Scot, the phrase to sued af is still used 
in the latter sense. I have observed one instance, in which 
vf occurs in the sense of a, ab, Gr. a, privative. This is in 
iif-brikan frustrari, irritum facere, Mar. 6. 26 ; also sper- 
nere, Luk. 10. \6. As the verb, conjoined with iff, is brik- 
an rumpere, it might seem literally to signify, to break up. 



104 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

But it is used in rendering Gr. utevlu, irritum ^cio, aboleo, 
abrogo ; from a and ri8^i pono. 

In Alem. and Franc, uf in composition retains the sig- 
nification of above. Uffdenter exiliens, uf gauge ascensu ; 
Gl. Mons. Vfquheman, oriri, uflekangan, oriantur, ufstic 
ascensus, ufitigante ascendentes, Kero. Ufruns, ortus so- 
lis, Notker. 

A.S. of occasionally indicates some affinity to Moes.G. 
uf, in what seems to have been its original sense. Thus 
of-Iicgean is superjacere, to overlay, iucubando opprimere, 
used in the laws of Edgar in the same sense with ofer-lic- 
gan. Of-standan, exsurgere, evidently indicates ascent. 
Theme of-stod and aras; Mare exsurgebat et intuniuit ; Job. 
6. 18. Rushworth MS. 

We discern some vestiges of the change of this particle 
from its original meaning to one directly opposite, in the Isl. 
In this ancient language ofa signifies supra, like Su.G. oef- 
tcer: Ofa mikit fe, vis et abundantia pecuniae; Ol. Sag. 
Verel. Ind. Yet in the same Saga, ofan, that is, ofa con- 
joined with an y the particle denoting motion, signifies deor- 
sum. In this sense it is opposed to npp, although, as would 
seem, radically the same. JJpp ne ofan ; Neque sursum, 
neque deorsum ; Ol. Tryg. S. 45. Verel. vo. Vpp. Ofan 
efter has the same meaniug, and is rendered by Swed. ne- 
dath, q. to beneath, downwards. Ofanjiri is explained in 
a very singular manner ; Deorsum, supra, superne positum ; 
ibid. The meaning of Su.G. ofican is desuper, from above ; 
it therefore gives the idea of descent. Dan. oven signifies 
above, and oven over, over and above, q. above, and more above. 

I have met with two phrases in A.S., in which both par- 
ticles occur. They of consequence mark the relation which 
the one bears to the other. Lfa?i ofer eallc; Superne super 
omnia; Poet. 184. Ofer eallum vfan othrum steorrum ; 
Super omnia quae superne sunt alia astra ; ibid. p. 18.}. 
Ufa* signifies above ; ofer is used as meaning farther, qj 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 105 

more above. Thus, though ufan by itself indicates altitude; 
as connected with ofer 9 it denotes inferiority. 

Thus Moes.G. uf, A.S. ufan, and Isl. of a, seem to have 
first received the sense of downwards, merely as used to de- 
note descent from a high place, whether voluntary or violent. 
For ofanfall signifies casus, descensus ; literally, a fall from 
above, or from on high. The terms had thus gradually 
come to be applied to whatever was under or lozcer in rela- 
tion to higher objects. e Y?r« retains only the secondary 
sense ; but we discern both in the application of uf, ufan, 
of an, and ofzcan. This circumstance of uf retaining its pri- 
mitive sense in composition, affords a strong presumption 
that it is more ancient than vto. To this we must add, 
that its Moes.G. cognate up, sursum, desuper, has never 
been subjected to any change of signification. The A.S, 
preposition up is not only rendered super, but desuper, c a- 
bove, from above ;' Somner. In the same manner, Germ. 
auf, which properly signified up or upon, came to bear the 
sense of desuper, from above, as being used in reference to 
things descending, as aufgiessen, to pour upon. Teut. op. 
seems to have somewhat of the ambiguous character of the 
Moes.G. preposition. Although it properly signifies above, 
it sometimes admits a contrary sense. 

It is not improbable that the use of the Moes.G. uf, and 
of its cognates, as denoting elevation from a lozv situation, 
might in part contribute to the application of it in the sense 
of under ; the mind fixing on the terminus a quo, instead of 
the terminus ad quern. Such a word as uf-graban, effodere, 
might suggest the idea of the ground, part of which was 
dug up ; Alem. ufstic, ascensus, that of the place left be- 
low ; Franc, uf-habatun, supportabant, that of the means 
employed under any object, for bearing it up. It does not 
follow, that the Goths were without a preposition corre- 
sponding to sub, till they adopted this secondary sense of 
uf. For Ulphilas frequently uses urtdar as exactly analo- 



106 GF PREPOSITIONS. 

gous to vtto : and this term seems to have been common to 
all the Gothic tribes. In A.S. tinder generally occurs 
where Ulphilas uses uf. 

I now proceed to compare a little farther the two Gr. 
prepositions with those of the Gothic nations ; and, without 
regard to the alphabetical order, shall first attend to vxl, 
because of its apparent seniority. 

'y™, Lat. Sub. 

Moes.G. vf, ubu, sub; Isl. of an deorsum ; Su.G. ofzran 
desuper ; Teut. op, desuper, sub. 

'**-« is explained as signifying, 1. Rest or situation un- 
der; 2. Motion tending under, or coming under ; 3. Sub- 
jection, influence, protection, &c. ; also, 4. As denoting a 
portion of time. 

1. Rest or situation under. Szca srre magun uf skadau 
is f agios himinis gabauan ; ' So that may under the shadow 
of it the fowls of heaven lodge ;' Mar. 4. 32. l~o rh <rxw 
xvtS. Moes.G. yf-mes, or uf-mesa, is rendered by Lye, 
excavatio, lacus. It occurs in Mar. 12. 1. 'A certain man 
planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, jah usgrof — 
ufmescty — and digged a pit;' the term in Gr. is vtoA»W> 
subtorculare, a pool for receiving the juice which comes 
from the wine-press. Junius prints the passage as defec- 
tive. Benzelius, in his edition, conjoins usgrof and yfmesa, 
without leaving any blank. But Sotberg, in his accurate 
revisal of the Codex Argenteus, found that the word for 
which Junius and Stiernhelm left a blank was dal, and 
reads ; Usgrof dal yfmesa ; rendering it ; Effodit cavernam 
(laccum) sub mensa ; * digged a hollow under the table/ 
dal, he says, signifying any thing depressed, as a valley, and 
here the place for receiving the wine. Ufmesa, he adds, 
is constructed after the form of the Gr. word, from iff cor- 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 107 

responding to i™, and mes elsewhere used by Ulphilas for 
a table. V. Ulph. Illustr. p. 32. 33. 

2. Motion tending under, or coming under, M im 
wairths ei uf lirot mein inngangais; l I am not worthy that 
thou shouldest under my roof enter;' Matt. 8. 8. v™ w 
s-gyjjv iia-iXfag. — Ibai lukam quimith du the ei uf melan sat- 
jaidau ; ' Is a candle brought,' or ' Does a candle come to 
be under a bushel set f 5 Mar. 4. 21. This is a literal version 

of the Gr. Mvrt o hv^vog Z£%ztoii, ** m v 7 ™ r ° v f*^iav itSy. It IS 

used in the same sense in the composite state. Sa ist tham- 
mei ik ufdaupjands thana hlaif giba; i He it is to whom I, 
dipping it, shall the bread give ;' jah uf-daupjands thana 
hlaif; ' and dipping the bread, he gave it to Judas ;' Joh. 
13. 26. In Gr. fidgets occurs in the first clause, i^^*? in 
the second, dipping in, immersing; as the Moes.G. term, 
literally viewed, is redundant, q. dipping under. — ' And as 
he went, uf-strazcidedun zvastjom seinaim ana zoiga, they 
spread,' or ' strewed their clothes in the way ;' Luk. 19. 36. 
Gr. V7rtf£mwtv, substraverunt. The Moes.G. verb is from 
uf sub, and sirawan, to straw, strezo, or stroic. 

3. Subjection, influence, protection, tyc. Ja than auk ik 
manna im uf waldufnja gasatids, habands ufmissi/bin gad- 
rauhtins ; ' I also am a man under authority set, having under 

me soldiers; Luk. 7. 8. v Av0ga7r,3$ uu.i vtto l^atricnv reicra-o^tvog, 
%-fcm hi? IpotvTov ^^oiTtaroig. The same phraseology occurs in 
Matt. 8. 9.- "All saizvalo waldnfnjam ufarwisandam nfhaus- 
jai ; ' Let every soul to the powers being above be subject ;' 

Kom. 13. 1. Ilao-ci ipv%vi lipcrioiig l7r;^i^ov<r66ig iTVarcx-u-a-'itrh). 

Here we have both prepositions in the compound state, ufar 
corresponding to In-le,, and uf to &*•«. — Aiththau ainamma 
uf-hauseith, ith antharamma frakann ; * or he will hold to 
the one, and despise the other;' Matt. 6. 24. Gr. *»tifaoti. 



108 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

The Moes.G. verb, used in both passages /last quoted, is 
from uf and hausjan audire; signifying auscultare, obedire. 

4. As denoting time. r Hxh v*l »vkt* ; Apollon. i He came 
wider night,' i. e. ' under cover of uight.' — ' He went, in 
gard Gotlis, uf ' Abiathara gudjin, into the house of God, in 
ike days of Abiathar the high priest;' Mar. 2. Co. In Gr. 
it is \*i 'AZict6ec£. It is used in the same sense, Luk. 4. 27. 
Jah managai thrutsfillai zcesun uf Haileisand praufetau in 
Israela ; ' And manvlepers were in the time of Elias the 
prophet in Israel. 'Here also bri is the Gr. preposition. In 
A.S. under occurs in both places. 

Teut. op den noen, sub meridiem ; op den avond, sub ves- 
peram ; op de ver-beurte van den lyve, sub poena mortis 
capitis; Kilian. 

'Y*-^, Lat. Super, supra. 

Moes.G. ufar, ufaro, A.S. ofer, Alem. ubar, uber, upar, 
by contraction ur, ouir, Isl. ofur, yfer, Su.G. oefxcer, Dan. 
otfuer, Germ, uber, Belg. Eng. over, id. Alem. uberi, supra, 
A.S. ofere, desuper. 

A.S. nfer, ufera, ufor, ufur, superior; Alem. oboro, Isl. 
yfer, Su.G. ocfre, Dan. ober, Germ, auber, Belg. opper, id. ; 
all corresponding to Scot, uvar, Old Eng. over, modern Eng. 
upper. 

'y*^ signifies, 1. Rest over or above; £. In defence of ', or 
in behalf of '; 3. In room of; 4. Motion over, or beyond. 5. 
Superiority in respect of power, dignity, or operation. 6. 
Concerning; 7. It also denotes excess; 8. It signifies 
against. 

1 . Rest over or above. St? $ v-**.* xtipxtf? ; Homer. ' He 
stood over his head : — F he stood, — higher in respect of his 
head, — higher than his head/ — ' ISow from the skth hour, 



OF PREPOSITIONS* 10<) 

warth riqnis ufar allaiairthai and quheila niundon, there was 
darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour; Matt. 27. 45. 
A.S. version, over ealle eorthan ; in the Isl. yfer allt landit. 
Here the Gr. preposition is IttL Ufaro has the same sig- 
nification. Lat. supra has been formed from wweg, in the same 
manner as ufaro from ufar. The distinction, almost inva- 
riably observed among the Latins, between super and supra, 
the former including the idea of contiguity, but the latter not, 
does not seem to apply to ufar and ufaro. In one passage 
ufaro gives the strictest idea of contiguity, where we have an 
account of the sepulchre of Lazarus. Staina ufarlagida zvas 
ufaro; i A stone was laid upon it;' Joh. 11. 38. A.S. 
Thar zcaes an Stan on uppan geled. On uppan is from the 
same origin with ufar, signifying super, insuper ; in Isl. yferlag- 
dur ; Gr. x/9o$ \irt»wn he uvru. Here the strictness of the 
version of Ulphilas appears, in the repetition of the prepo- 
sition, as in the Gr. It is used in the same sense in com- 
position. Mahts hauhistins ufarskadzoeid thus ; ' The power 
of the Highest shall over-shadow thee ;' Luk. 1. 35. A.S. 
Thaes haehstan miht the ofersceadath; Isl. kraftur hins 
haedsia mun yfer sky ggia thig. Gr. IsnoWw* mi.-— J ah warth 
milhma vfarskadujands im ; l And there was a cloud that 
overshadowed them ;' Mar. 9. 7. Gr. Unrtu&prgb uvro7$. — 
J ah zvas ufarmeli fairinos is ufarmelith ; l The superscription 
of his accusation was written over; Mar. 15. 26. Here we 
have both the noun and the verb, compounded of ufar, and 
meljan scribere. Gr. l7ny^x(ph — Iviyiy^x^zv-A. The term 
corresponding to wny§*<p« in A.S. is ofer-gezcrit. In Isl. 
Thar var upp yfer honum skri fad. — Quhis habaith manleikan 
jah ufarmeli ; ' Whose image and superscription hath it V 
Luk. 20. 24. In Isl. Hvcrs mind og yfer skri ft hefurhann? 

2. In defence of. *~fx\% <r* fid%«fi*t ; ' I fight in defence 
of you, — ' 1 fight to cover you,' consequently, < in fighting am 
higher than you.' I have met with one passage only, in the 



110 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

Codex Argenteus, in which ufar can be understood in this 
sense. ' There were in the same country shepherds, — wi- 
tandans zcahtzcom nalits ufar hairdai seinai ; l keeping the 
watches of the night over their flocks ;' Lnk. 2. 8. Nyht- 
zcaeccan healdende ofer heora heorda ; A.S. vers. The Gr. 
preposition is hrl. I need scarcely say, that the meaning ob- 
viously is, that they watched for the purpose of defending or 
guarding their flocks. 

3. In room of. 'Tjrfg «£ ^ixkcvu^ { he serves in room of 
thee,-— coming over the place from which you have been re- 
moved, — or which you have left unoccupied.' Ufar may 
admit this interpretation in Matt. 10. 37. Saeifrijuth attan 
aiththau aithein ufar mik, ?iist meina zcairths. ' He that 
loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of 
me;' Matt. 10. 37- In A.S. ma thonne me; in Gr. wsrtg \uX-, 
Isl. vers., yfer mig. The same preposition occurs in the 
second part of the sentence. It literally signifies above; but 
the term, being used figuratively, denotes the substitution of 
another object, that receives the supreme love to which the 
Saviour asserts his exclusive claim. 

4. Motion over, or beyond. 1.) 'r^^ has this significa- 
tion in regard to place. 'Aidtovrixg rn vt\$ Atyvimt i ' Ethiopia 
which is beyond Egypt ;' Thucyd. — Afar that a galaith Iaisus 
ufar marein tho Galeilaie; 'After these things Jesus went 
over the sea of Galilee ;''Joh. 6. 1 . In A.S. ofer tha Galileis- 
cean sae; In Isl. yferum sioenn. Gr. sfg«» i-ife £«A«ot . — 
Iddjedun uh ufar marein in Kafamaum ; ver. 17- ^A.S. 
Ofer tha sae to Caphamaum ; Isl. yferum sioenn til Caper- 
naum. The same as above in Gr. — Iaisus usiddja mitk 
siponjam seinaim ufar rinnon tho Kaidron ; Jesus — went 
forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron ;' Joh. 13. 1. 
Eode he ofer tha human Cedron, A.S. Moes.G. riuno, a 
torrent, a runnel or run of water; A.S. bum, byrna, Teut. 
born, id. Scot, a burn. In Isl, yferum laekenn Kedion. 



OE PREPOSITIONS. Ill 

Ve^ccv still occurs as the Gr. preposition. Here it may be 
observed, that, as A.S. ofer signifies ripa, the bank of a river, 
it may be viewed as the preposition used in a substantive 
form ; q. what is above or higher than the water. Or the 
term may have been primarily applied to the opposite bank, 
from qfer as signifying beyond. Germ, lifer is used in the 
same sense with the A.S. term. V. Wachter. Moes.G. 
ufar has the same sense in composition. Atsteigands hi 
ship, ufarlaith. ' Entering into a ship, he passed over ;' Matt. 
9.1. A.S. ofer-spglode, over-sailed; Isl. Foer yferumaftur. 
Gr. ^g7r£^c-g # . Although leithan does not appear in its 
simple form, it has evidently had the sense of ire. A.S. 
qferthone muthan, trans fretum ; ufer Jindan, ulterius in- 
venire. Su.G. oefwer sioen f trans mare. 

2.) 'Ytt^ signifies beyond in relation to time. 'Ywgg to* 
xut^ov, beyond the time, unseasonably. A.S. on aferum dagum, 
in posterioribus diebus ; posthac ; Lye. Alem. uparmorgane f 
perendie, quasi transacto crastino; Germ, iiber morgen f 
Su.G. oefwermorgon ,• id. Lefwa oefwer aret, vivendo annum 
superare. 

3.) The Gr. preposition is also used in a moral sense. 

'O7T7T0Te£0l 7T(>oTt(>Ol V7Tl(> O^CICC 7T1ipv)VUCCV, Homer. 

f Whichsoever shall first offend beyond, or contrary to, agree- 
ment.' — Niquhanhun anabusn theina nfariddja ; ' Neither 
transgressed I at any time thy commandment; Luk. 15. 
29. Isl. enn yfertroded thin bodord. Gr. Trx^xhv. A.S. 
ofer, extra, praeter. Ofer Codes ae he deth; extra, vel 
contra, legem Dei facit; Somner. Hzvi ofzcer-gaege ge 
Godes zcord I Quare transgredimini vos Dei verbum ? Num. 
14. 41. Alem. ubartnan, praevaricare. Su.G. oefwerfara > 
transgredi physice et moraliter, quod est peccare ; Hue. 

* V. the observations on Ilsga, <ri^»y, p.85, &c. 



112 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

5. Superiority in respect of pozcer, dignity, (ov operation. 
1.) 'Y5i-£g denotes superiority as to power. Rom. 13. 1. 

fiZtret -J/VX* V&tvieus v7rs%i%oi<rxi$ InoToKrcr-G-Qa h * Let every Soul 

be subject to the higher powers ;' Ulph. All saizcalo zeal- 
dufnjam ufar-zcisandam ufhausjai. So also in Luk. 19. 27. 
Fijands meinam jainans, thatei ni zcildedun mik thiudanon 
ufar sis ; ' Those enemies, which would not that I should 
reign over them ;' in A.S. Tha mine fynd, the noldon that ic 
ofer hig rixude. Isl. Sent eigi villdu mig rikia laeta yfer ser. 
The Gr. preposition is hti. A.S. beon ofer, esse super, 
praeesse. Beo thu ofer jif ceastra : * Be thou over five cities ;' 
Luk. 19. 19. This passage is lost from the Codex Argen- 
teus. Alem. ubaruuintu, superabo, ubaruuinnames, super- 
amus ; Kero. oberou superare, Notk. Isl. yferbodi y supre- 
mus, Specul. Regal. Su.G. oefzcerste, oeftcerhcet, id. Isl. 
uferbodi, suprenia potestas ; yferdrotnan, dominatio, Su.G. 
oefzccrzcaelde id. Isl. yferkonga, monarcha; yfermeistari, 
Su.G. oefzcermaestare, magister magistrorum. 

2.) It denotes superior dignity. In this sense vttI^ occurs 

twice in Matt. 10. 24. Ojk vrn ftxhry.q vtt££ rh ^deLcDcxMv, 

evh ttovXos 'vx\% rov xi^iot ctvrS •, € The disciple is not above his 
master, nor the servant above his lord/ Ufar has the same 
signification. Nist siponeis ufar laisarga, nih skalks ufar 
fanin seinamma. A.S. Nys se homing- cniht ofer hys la- 
leozc. ne theozo ofer hys hlaford. It has this sense also in 
composition ; as in Mar. 10. 53. Sunns mans atgibada 
thaim ufar-gudjam jah bokarjam : ' The son of man shall 
be delivered to the chief priests and scribes/ or 'book-men.' 
A.S. ofer-ealdor-man, princeps. 

3.) Superiority in operation. 'fwjg ^oT^xt, Homer; ' supe- 
rior to fate, — controlling fate.' Sai atgaf iizcis zvaldufni tru- 
dan ufaro zcaurmejah skaurpjono ; ' Behold J give unto you 
power to tread on serpents and scorpions ;' Luk. 10. 19- A.S. 
qfer nueddran and snacan ; Gr.lirxw oQiai >£ w^xim •, Isl. 
uppa hoeggonna og seorpiona, ogyfer allann kraft ovinarens. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 113 

6. 'r^z signifies concerning. I have observed no vestige of 
this sense in Moes.G., or in any of the other dialects. It 
seems to. have been a refinement of the Greeks, when they 
became more polished ; and may perhaps be viewed as too 
figurative a sense for a barbarous people. 

7. The Gr. preposition frequently denotes excess. This is 
merely a figurative use of the term as signifying over or beyond. 
c Y*-«g to, pir^ci, beyond measure. — ^<x^i7r{^<j-<nv<nv £ #«*£<£ ; Cum 
largo excessu superabundavit gratia ; Rom. 5. 20. In Isl. 
this is, Yfergnaefer nadenn enn mikluframar. As Moes.G. 
vfar-fullei is abundance, q* overfulness, ufarassau signifies 
excess or rather excessively. — J ah ufarassau sildaleikidedun : 
i And they were beyond measure astonished ;' Mar. 7. 37. 
vvigiFigura-ciq il&rhfarovro. A.S. ofer is synonymous. Ofer-aet, 
ingluvies, over-eating. Ofer-aete, vorax. Ofer'blith, supra 
modum laetus. Ofer-crueft, nimia versutia, fraus. Ofer- 
drenc, nimia potatio, ebrietas. Ofer-fylle> satietas, Alem. 
ubarazalii, crapula ; Kero. Ubarfluzentaz mez, mensuram 
superefBuentem ; Tatian. TJbartnmchanii, ebrietas ; Kero. 
Franc, uparazili, crapula, Gl. Mons. Uper-vangalont 
excedunt ; uperva?igaloti, excessu ; ibid. Isl. yferfliot, 
abuudanter. 

8. 'rsrlg is. sometimes used in the sense of contra. 

Homer. II. Y. 59. 

'Since thou hast reproved me justly, not injuriously,' or 
' against right.' This is merely a slight transition from the 
use of the particle as signifying beyond. — Moes.G. ufar 
changes the sense, so that the compound expresses the re- 
verse of the meaning of the term in its simple state. Vfar- 
mmnodedun niman hlaibans; — The disciples « had forgotten 

H 



~y 



114 OF PREPOSITIONS. 

to take bread;' Mar. 8. 14. Hig ofergeaton {that hig hlafas 
ne namon, A.S. The Moes.G. verb is formed from the 
preposition and muncui, munjan, cogitare. Ofer has the same 
power in A.S. Heoran signifies to hear, ofer-heoran, non 
auscultare, contemnere : ofer-heortnesse, supposed to be for 
ofer-heornesse, inobedientia. Hogan, curam gerere, studere ; 
ofer-hogan contemnere, spernere. Laub signifies fides, ubar- 
hlaupnissi, a breach of faith, praevaricatio ; Isidor. 

I may add that Franc, uberden, insuper, Gl. Mons. greatly 
resembles, both in its form and meaning, vm^i, vVs^jy, desu- 
per, superne, in superiore parte, supra, lsl. yfred, yfrit, valde, 
has also strong marks of affinity. 



BOOK II. OF CONJUNCTIONS, AD- 

VERBS, INSEPARABLE PARTICLES, 
TERMINATIONS, PRONOUNS, NAMES 
OF NUMBERS, COMPARISON, AND 
VERBS. 



CHAPTER I. 



OF CONJUNCTIONS. 



Those to which I beg leave to call the attention of the 
reader are the following; 'aaa«; 'Av, s £«v, Lat. An; 'at^, 
uuroc^ 'Hts, fat, Lat. Aut, autem ; &il } blti} E<; r n i and 
"On, Lat. Vti, ut. 



*A*x*, but. 

This conjunction has been deduced by a learned and 
acute writer from «aao? another. " In all instances/' he 
says, it " retains the original signification. Thus, ** >jA0ov *#- 
i**vroit rov vote™, I came not to destroy the late, but to ful- 
fil it ; I came not to destroy the laic, another thing — / 
came to fulfil it." Jones's Gr. Grainm. p. 300. 

The correspondent word in Mocs.G. is alja. This is 
evidently formed in the same manner. We have not indeed 
the adjective in Moes.G. analogous to cixxog, in Lat. alius. 
But the remaining derivatives certify its former existence. 
Alja-kunja signifies alienigena, «AA«ys»ifc, Luk. 17. 18. and 
aljaihro is aliunde, from another quarter. 

H 2 



116 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

1. Alja is used as signifying sed, but. ^To sit on my 
right hand and on my left is not mine to give, alja tkaimei 
manzcith was, but to whom it is prepared ,-' Mar. 10. 40. 
uX>C •k iiraiuctTxt. ' It is not mine to give, — another thino-— 
it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.' — Chap. 
9. 8. ' And suddenly when they had looked round about, 
they saw no man any more, alja Iaisu ainana mith sis, save 
Jesus only with themselves ;' 'aaa<* tw Ua-Sv /xovcv - } Baton 
thaene Haelend si/lfne ; A.S. 

2. It is also used for u ph, nisi, unless. ' But unto none 
of them was Elias sent, alja in Saraipta Seidonais du qui- 
uon widuwon, save unto Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman 
that was a widow ; Luk. 4. 26. It occurs also in ver. 27. 
— TJnte nist waldufin alja fram Got ha : * For there is no 
power but,' or • except from God ;' Rom. 13. 1. — Jfi quha- 
shun thiutheigs, alja ains Goth ; < There is no one good, 
but owe, that is, God;' Mar. 10. IS. ' There is no one 
good ; — another thing — God only ;' or ' one is good — God.' 

3. It occurs in the sense of praeter, besides. ( There is 
one God, jah nist anthar alja imma, and there is none 
other but he;' Mar. 12. 32. Owe m uhk* wrib xvtx : Nys 
other baton hym, A.S. 

Moes.G. afjath, alio, aliorsum, approaches very nearly 
to the Gr. adverb aXXofa. * x\ certain man planted a vine- 
yard, — and let it out to husbandmen, jah ajlaiih aljath, and 
went into a far country;' Mar. 12. 1. Gr. «n^mfj Amd 
ferde on altheodigni/sse, A.S. 

Alja has various cognates in the Goth, dialects. Among 
these we must reckon Alem. a/lasuuara, aliorsum ; A.S. 
elles, alioquin, Eng. else; ellor, Su.G. aeljes, alias, like 
«AA<y ? , id. ; elleshzcaer aliorsum, elsezchere ; Franc, eliporo 
alienigena ; Alem. allesuuanan aliunde, alles aliter, Otfr. 
also, aliud, aliunde, id. ; Isl. clla, alias, Verel. ; vel, ant. 



OF CONJUNCTIONS. 117 

*We, liodie elligar, Gudm. Andr. ; Germ, al-fanz aliena 
loquens, el-gotze idolum peregrinum, elend terra aliena, buff' 
el bos peregrinus. 

Wachter, in his Glossary, gives el, ell, as signifying alius> 
alienus, peregrinus. But he says that it is a Celtic and pri- 
mitive word, whence the Greeks formed &xm$, and the La- 
tins alius. He refers to Cambro-Brit. allien alienus, alon 
alieni, inimici, alltud alienigena, ad vena, allzclad id., &c. 
But these have as much the semblance of derivative words 
as any of those already mentioned. The term, although 
in a composite form, has fully as primitive an appear- 
ance in A.S. el- or ael-theodig exterus, extraneus, pere- 
grinus, from el, and theod populus, gens, also written el- 
tkeodisce, where theodisc has the same meaning ; el-reordig 
barbarus, from el, and reord lingua, q. of strange speech. 
It is not improbable that the root is oriental. Arab. ^Jtf, 
alal, signifies abiit, cito transiit ; and might be applied to 
those who passed from one country to another. 



9 Av, 'Exv, by contraction w , Lat. An. 

Some have supposed lav to be compounded of I or h and 
«>. Professor Dunbar views these conjunctions as formed 
from different verbs ; deriving m from ka, or apt, or from 
«npi, the same with la or lu, initio, sino, and !#» from Ixu, sino, 
permilto. It is acknowledged, however, that these particles 
have nearly the same meaning ; and that most probably they 
are both from the same root. It has been justly observed, 
that they properly suggest the idea of something being grant- 
ed ; and particularly, that av " has only one simple definite 
meaning, that of denoting permission or power, either condi- 
tionally or absolutely, according to the nature of the subject." 
There seems to be no ground to doubt, that the particle an, 

H3 



118 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

among the Latins, was borrowed from the Greeks, " though 
it was used by them in a sense somewhat different.'' 

Some have denied that av is ever constructed with the 
present indicative. But several instances to the contrary 
have been produced by different writers. V. Dunb. Gr. 
Exerc. p. 251. Ulphilas uses an indiscriminately in rela- 
tion both to the subjunctive, and to the present indicative. 
So limited are our examples in the fragments of this vener- 
able writer, that we have no proper opportunity of judging, 
if it was used with the same extent in Moes.G. as in Gr. 
In all the passages in which it seems to occur, it is prefixed 
to an interrogation. This corresponds to the application of 
an in Lat. The Greeks, however, used «v in the same man- 
ner. T* «» Xtyftquri Cur diceremus, vel, dicamus ? "Om kuaq 
Ze'iTTsiv civ ; Putas iios esse navigaturos r Lucian. 

1 And the people asked him saving, An quha taujaima, 
What shall we do?' Luk. 3. 10. tY oJy *otfo*ftir ; It is 
than in the edition of Junius ; but is thus corrected from the 
MS. by Lye and Sotberg. — * But he willing to justify him- 
self, said unto Jesus, An quhas ist ?nis neqvhundja ; Who 
is my neighbour?' Chap. 10. 29. K*i rig tri ^«y *-Ar,r<oy; 
This passage is also given according to the Codex. — 'And 
they that heard it, said, An quhas mag ganisan : Who then 
shall be saved?' Chap. 18. 0.6. Kxj Wg ^vvxrxi cufiixi ;— 
An quhas ist Fan, ei galaubjau du imma : ' Who is he, 
Lord, that I might believe on him ?' Joh. 9- 3<3. Ei and «i 
are often connected in Gr., the one preceding, in the hypo- 
thetical clause, the other contained in that which follows it. 
Here the order is inverted ; and ei is used as corresponding 
to Yvx. — ' Pilate therefore said unto him, An mth thiudans 
is tlm: Art thou a king then ?' Chap. IS. 37. OvxoZv /3«3-<>.«v; 

if cy. 

A.S. an approaches more nearly to the use of «» in Gr. 
Somner derives it from ge-an do, vel dono ; ' I give or 
grant ;' Lye from an-an, dare ; ccncedere. An is used by 



OF CONJUNCTIONS. ] If) 

Caedmon in the sense of indulgeat, largiatur. This particle, 
as has been observed by Home Tooke, was used by English 
writers, in the sense of if, so late as the age of Shakespeare, 
although now become obsolete. It is still commonly used 
in the same sense in Scotland. It certainly has great ap- 
pearance of being formed from the A.S. verb ; yet as the 
passage quoted from Caedmon is the only one 1 have met 
with, in which it seems to admit a sense analogous to that in 
which it is used in old Eng., some doubt still remains as 
to the origin ; especially as the same particle occurs in kind- 
red dialects, which afford no proof of a similar derivation. 

Su.G. aen is a conditional particle, used as equivalent to 
€*v, si. It occurs very often in the ancient laws. Aenfae 
Jioegher ; si pecus transilierit ; Leg. WestGoth. Raettl. 
c. 75. ap. Hire. Alen Jioegher or gaerdhi; si ex arvo se 
proripuerit ; ibid- Aen hanom sua thaekkis ; si illi ita pla- 
cuerit ; Vit. Anscharii, p. 101. ap. Hire. Proem, xix. Oni 
is sometimes conjoined with it, in interrogations; as, Aen om 
jag goer thet ; quid si hoc fecero I 



s At*£, xvtu£, "an, %toi, but; Lat. Ant, autem* 

Hire has remarked the affinity between the Gr. conjunc- 
tion and Swed. ater, vero. It is thus used ; Tu jakar, jag 
ater nekar ; Tu ais, ego vero nego. Jag ater tror thet ,• 
Ego vero contra hoc credo. 

A.S. oththe bears considerable resemblance to Lat. aut, 
by which it is explained. Athor oththe is the phraseology, 
when two objects are distinguished ; as, Athor oththe feoh, 
eththe feorhe ; Sive pecunia, sive vita. Athor seems properly 
to signify alter* Moes.G. aththan might appear allied to 
autem, by which it is translated ; but aiththau, and uththau, 
Alein. edo, used in the same sense, have more similarity to 

H 4 



120 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

9<r<5/. Isl. edur retains more of the Gr. form; explained/ 
aut, seu, sive.; Gudm. Andr. p. 06. Germ, edor, id. 



Ad, proinde x ideo ; Aion, quoniam, quare. 

All that is necessary here, is to refer to what has been 
said with respect to the preposition A<« ; its use in a conjunc- 
tive or composite form, as well as in its simple state, hav- 
ing been already explained. 



El, if. 

Junius, in his Glossary, has given Moes.G. ei as signifying 
St. But unluckily among various passages which he has 
quoted, there is not one in which it can strictly bear this 
sense. For this reason, it may be supposed, Lye has ex- 
cluded this sense in his Dictionary, without taking the trouble 
to examine whether the term, as used hi the Codex Argen- 
teus, might in any instance be thus rendered. 

Its common signification is at, quod. But in some few 
instances it has the same meaning with the Gr. particle. 
These must have been much reduced in number, from the 
obliteration of the version in most of the places where this 
paiticle occurs in the original. Such traces of the use of 
this term remain, however, as clearly to indicate, that it must 
have had a common origin with that which so frequently 
occurs in Gr. 

1. Sometimes it properly signifies if. It is found in one 
passage which is defective. This is Matt. 11. 23. Thatei 
ei in Saudaumjan — mahteis thos waurtkanons in izzcis, aith- 
ihau eis zceseina and liina dag. ' For if in Sodom — tlte 
mighty [works] done in thee, it would have remained until 



OF CONJUNCTIONS* 121 

this day;' Fortham gyf on Sodoma-laude, fyc. A. S. version, 
"On ii b Xotiiptts. It occurs decidedly in the same sense in 
Mar. 11.13. ' And seeing a fig-tree afar off, having leaves, 
atiddja ei anfto bigeti quha ana imma, he came, if haply he 
might find any thing thereon.' r Hxfov si «g« eugfre* rt b wi/rf. 
Also in Mar. 15. 44. Ith Pilatus sildaleikida ei isjuthan 
gaszcalt ; l And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead $ 

2. In several places in which it means uf, as corresponding 
to Wee in Gr., it conveys the idea of the uncertainty of the 
end in view ; and thus seems to be used in some degree hy- 
pothetically. c They sent unto him certain of the Pharisees, 
and of the Herodians, ei ina ganuteina zcaurda y to catch him 
in his words,"' Mar. 12. 13. tvoc xvrav iy^ewrurt Xoytp. This 
expresses their intention merely, while the effect is left doubt- 
ful. Similar language is used in Luk. 20. 20. ' They — 
sent forth spies, who should feign themselves just men, ei 
gafaifaheina is waurde, that they might take hold of his 
words.' The version appears so constructed in both places, 
that if might be substituted in the mind of the reader, as ex- 
pressing the sense not less accurately than that. The same 
remark applies to Mar. 9- 42. 

3. JE? is often used by Ulphilas as consecutive to an hy- 
pothetical particle; as «v in Gr. to s/. Thus when jab ai or 
jau occurs in a preceding member of a verse, ei is frequently 

found in that which follows. Jah zcitaidedun imma jau 
hailidedi sabbato daga, ei zcrohidedeina ina. ' And they 
watched him zchether he would heal him on the sabbath-day, 
that they might accuse him ;' Mar. 3. 2. The same con- 
struction occurs in Luk. 6. 7. and in Matt. 5. 29. and 30. 
where jabai is the conditional particle. This use of ei gives 
strong indication that nt is merely a secondary sense. 



122 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

4. El is occasionally used by the best Gr. Writers in the 
sense of In, It has this signification in Acts '2.6. 8. i7 

a7fic-T0V xgiverat %ct£ vtiiv, u o ©goj viK^ov? iyii'gu i l Why should it 

be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise 
the dead?' It occurs twice in the same sense in ver. 23. 
When, therefore, Ulphilas renders en by ei, as in Joh. 8. 22. 
or uses it for It*, which is often equivalent, he materially 
follows the same plan with Greek writers, who used It in the 
sense of on. Thus, although in the remains of his version, 
it occurs most frequently as signifying that, it forms no proof 
that this was the primary application. 

Eithau means alioqui, otherzeise, or else, Luk. 14. 32. 
where it is given as the translation of u U pj. This com- 
pound particle very nearly corresponds to em she. Eithau 
seems to have been formed from ei and thau corresponding 
in use to at in Gr. 

Jn Isl. ef is consonant to Moes.G. ei. The northern 
glossarists, under ef, refer to Gr. h. But this reference ap^ 
pears merely to regard identity of signification. I may take 
occasion here to observe, that Home Tooke, speaking of the 
Eng. synonyme, designs it ' our corrupted */,-' Divers. Purl. 
I. 103. The reason of this designation is obvious. He 
views gif as the original conjunction; and lest his hypothesis 
as to its formation from A.S. gif-aii, to give, should be in 
any respect invalidated, he is determined to throw //into the 
shade. What he has advanced as to the origin of gif has a 
great degree of plausibility, if we confine ourselves within the 
limits of the A.S. dialect; but it is by no means free from 
difficulty, as not being supported by analogy in the cognate 
tongues. The reader may, if he pleases, cast his eye on what 
has been said on this head in Etymol. Dictionary, vo. gif» 
When Mr Tooke says p. 102. " The truth of the matter is, 
that if is merely a verb, — merely the imperative of the Goth, 
and A.S. verb gifan," he asserts what cannot be proved as 
to the first of these languages. For not only is there no such 



OF CONJUNCTIONS. 123 

Moes.G. verb, the form being gib-an ; but there is no evidence 
that any of the particles, signifying if in that language, was 
formed from this verb. 

The presumption is, that if, so far from being a corruption, 
has at least as high claims to antiquity as gift It does not 
occur indeed in A.S. But is this the only language in which 
we are to look for the radical terms used by us ? Has not 
the Eng. borrowed many words from lsl. Dan. &c. of which 
there are no vestiges in A.S.? It is the same with if, ef, sig- 
nifying si in lsl. ; and with Su.G. jaef, jef, denoting doubt, ex- 
ception, whence the phrase, an iwi, sine dubitatione, or as 
we say in Scot, zcithout an if. It seems to have been origi- 
nally a noun, if not a part of the Su.G. verb jefw-a dubitare, 
suspicari, lsl. ef-a, if-a, iv-a id., Dubito, anceps haereo, in- 
certus sum ; Gudm. Andr. ; whence their efe, dubitatio. Verel. 
writes it if-ast, iv-ast, dubitare, ambigere; an iva, sine du- 
bitatione; Ind. Scytho-Scand. This nearly resemblesMoes.G. 
gauy also jau } si. 



7 H, signifying quam, than. 

I need scarcely observe, that this particle is frequently 
used in comparison. Eikos £g (tdxtrcc rx$ yz^ovroig % t%s vix$ n 
y.Xcinv -, Par est pueros potius quam senes flere ; Aristoph. 
in Neb. Su.G. ae, e and ee, occur in the same sense in the 
writings of the middle ages. Ae thes flere rada, thes mere 
aero the skilde ; Quo plures imperaverint, eo major est 
dissensio ; Kong. Styr. p. 17. 



"Orij quod, quam, quia ; Lat. JJti, ut. 

" This," it has been observed with great appearance of 
triith, " is the neuter termination of *V*$ ; and its use con- 



124 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

sists in specifying the sentence succeeding it, id such a man-* 
ner as to make it a more prominent object of attention. 

Thus, MsyseAjjy tt%ov TTx^xtivGtxv en 3-xXxtrc-Y; 7rxi>xx.x6r,{AXt j I 

felt a great consolation that I resided near the sea ; i. e. I 
felt that thing, — namely, I resided near the sea, — a great 
consolation." Here it " is in the accusative, meaning the 

Same thing with ftzyxKnv irx^XfAvdixv, or S-xXxctry 7rxpxxx$r,pxi.— 

But in the following example it is, with the defined clause, 
the nominative to Wi, implied in ^jA«». 'q. x.xi dnXov in t» 
avti cvrar, iypth vtto 'Zax^xrm, whence it is manifest that it 
was in reality so said by Socrates. — Whence that thing, viz. 
it zcas so said by Socrates, — is manifest." Jones's Greek 
Gramm. p. 206. 

1. It is equivalent to quod. We find o n sometimes used 
disjunctively, in the very same sense in which the term oc- 
curs as written m. As »$ signifies qui, zcho, and tU aliquis r 
some one ; when conjoined, they seem to denote, in relation 
to something to be asserted, a certain one zcho. In like 
manner, a signifying quod, and r) aliquod, they mean in 
conjunction, something izhich, or a certain thing which. 
For on, as calling attention to the object pointed out, takes 
the definitive sense of tU, quidam, certus. 

lhre views on, in this acceptation, as exactly equivalent 
to Su.G. att, giving this illustration ; 'Enm fa /3*ast«< ; Ilan 
sade, alt ban ville ; l He said, that he would.' It is still 
in common use in this sense in Sweden. It is the term by 
which ar< in the Gr. Testament is frequently translated. 1L- 
rodes nu sag, at han tear beszciken af the zcisa maen ; * He- 
rod — saw that he was mocked of the wise men ;' Matt. 2. 
16. JVi zcete, at zci aerom foerde ifra doeden til In 
1 We know that we have passed from death to life ;' 1 J oh. 
S. 14. It is used also in Isl. It occurs in the Edda of 
Saemund. 



OF CONJUNCTIONS* 125 

Sottu thui meirr 

At syn var fyri. Hrafna-galdr, st. xv. 

c They pressed forward the more keenly, that they met with 
repulse/ In the Glossary to this ancient work, at is given 
as a synonyme of 'on. It has the same signification in Dan. 
Jeg troer at han vil kom ; ' I believe that he will come.' 
It is used by our own ancient writers, as Barbour, Wyntown, 
the Bishop of Dunkeld, &c. both as a conjunction, and as 
a pronoun. A variety of further illustration, both from 
northern writers, and from those of our own country, is 
given in the Etymological Dictionary, vo. At, conj. and 
pron.f which it is unnecessary to repeat here. 

I need scarcely add, that Lat. uti, by contraction ut, is 
evidently Gr. on, and conveys the same sense. 

2. "On, joined with the superlative, signifies quam valde, 
very much, as much as possible. "On b /Z^^vrocra, quam 
brevissimo tempore ; Thucyd. "On n-teTs-os, quam plurimus. 
With the adverb formed from the superlative, $rt ^o^orocr^, 
quam longissime ; on pxXircc, quam maxime. In this form, 
the term seems to be used strictly in the sense of a pro- 
noun, and indeed in the proper sense of oW. Each of these 
passages may be resolved by using the word zchatsoever ; 
' in the shortest time whatsoever \ ' the most numerous 
zohatsoevej: ;' Sec. 

The ancient Goths and Icelanders have substituted at, 
eth, hit, for on ; as, at mesta, quam maxime ; kit zveg- 
ligsta, qnam pulcerrime ; eth diarfasta, quam audacissime ; 
line, Procem. A.S. aet might appear to be used in a si- 
milar manner, as occurring in the phrases, aet nextan, tan- 
dem, demum, ad ultimum, aet sithestan, id.; as well as 
Alem. az, used in az erist imprimis, az jungist novissime. 
But these are undoubtedly the prepositions signifying ad. 



126 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 

3. "On signifies quia, quoniam. "Ot«> XxXf to ^ivbos, U 
tZv tii'uv XccXii' in Sevens Wt. ' When lie speaketh a lie, he 
speaketh of his own : for/ or ' because he is a liar ;' Joh. 
8. 44. 

Su.G. at is occasionally used in this sense. Thus in 
Joh. 6. 26., where on occurs twice as signifying quia, at is 
twice used in the Swed. version. I foclen mig icke foerden- 
skul, at j hafzcen scdt tehi ; atan foerdenskul, at j haf- 
icen aetit af broeder, och aeren zcordne maette. l Ye 
seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye 
did eat of the loaves, and were filled/ 

But although at is commonly put for on as signifying 
quod and quam, the Su.G. particle most commonly assumes 
a different form when the Gr. term has the sense of quia. 
This is generally that of ty, or with the aspirate thy ; A.S. 
id. Moes.G. tliei, iheei, Alem. thin, Jsl. thin, all signify- 
ing because, quia, quoniam. A.S. at bears most resem- 
blance to the first part of the Gr. conjunction ; that of the 
Goths, in the other instance, throwing off the l, appears as 
ri. As in the Swed. version ; * Why do ye not understand 
my speech ? Ty j kunnen icke hoera mit tal ; because ve 
cannot hear my word ;' ' Ot< » Vjvxrfo «xss<v rot xiyt rh luoy - t 
Joh. 8. 43. — Men deu legde flyr : ty han aer kgd; ' The 
hireling fieeth, because he is an hireling ;' 'o ol furtm&s <p%v- 
y«, on fiirtuTos !*■< ; Joh. 10. 13. In one passage where 
on occurs twice, both at and ty are found in this version. 
This is 1 Joh. 3. 14, referred to above. 'HtuTg tA^aa or* 

f/.mt%i«Yiy-of4.zv hi ts B-xvdra si$ Tqv £#>jy, on ccyct7rcop.ii risg elc;' 
In the first part of the verse tn signifies quod, in the second 
quia. ' We know that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren/ IVi zcet:, at tri acwm 
foerde ifra doede/i tit lifzcet ; ty a* aelskom broedenia. 
Here at is used for that, and ty for because. 

There can be no doubt that the word, when it has the 
aspirate, is the very same ; for the Goths often pronounce 



OF CONJUNCTIONS* 127 

a term, which contains the letter t, in both ways. In Moes,G. 
this word lias the form of thei, theei. It occurs for on as 
signifying that. ' The Jews said — whither will he go, thei 
zceis ni bigitaima ina, that we shall not find him r' "o« -^ug 
*% zv^e-opw ccvtov ; Joh. 7- 35. — ' By this shall all men know, 
thei meinai siponjos sijuth, that ye are my disciples;' §n 
I/no} fMhr«i Ui\ Joh. 13. 35. Also in ver. 38. l I say unto 
thee, thei liana ni hrokeith, that the cock shall not crow/ 
&c. Although it is * ^ in the printed copies, it is evident 
that Ulphilas had read on ph, according to the Cambridge 
MS., which was once the property of Beza. 

It also occurs for quia. ' This he said, not that he cared 
for the poor,' that is, ( not because he cared ;' in Moes.G. 
Ni theei ina thize tharbana hara zcesi; Joh. 12. 6. In Gr. 
Ov% %n 7rt£t rav tcvu^oiv iftsXa xvra. This is the meaning of 
the language used in the A.S. version ; Forthig the. The 
connexion of thei with on has been already shewn from the 
use of du thei for $ion. V. Atu, Book 1. chap. 3. 

A.S. thy is explained ; * Hoc, ideo, propterea, quia; iu 
that, therefore, for so much as, because ;' Somner. Thy 
the, and forthy, are often used for quia, quoniam. I have 
not observed that thy is, like on, joined with the superlative ; 
but it very frequently occurs in connexion with the compa- 
rative. Thy zditegra, eo formosior, Caedm. ; thy zceorodra, 
eo dulcior, Boet. ; thy zvyrsa, eo pejor ; id. From these 
modes of expression, we now say, the fairer, the sweeter, 
the worse. V. Etymol. Dictionary, Forthi. in vo. 

Alem. thiu being used like A.S. thy, as thiu baz, eo me- 
lius, bithiu signifies quoniam. It is also written by Kero., 
pidiu. 

Isl. thiu is evidently the same, the vowels being inverted. 
It signifies ideo, quia; Gudm. Andr. p. 26S. Verelius ob- 
serves that it is a particle of comparison, rendering it by 
eo. Thai gior, eo perfectius ; thui likra, eo similius. 

It has been already observed, that on is merely the neuter 



12S of conjunctions; 

of the reciprocal pronoun «•*?. It is singular, i(hat the same 
analogy is apparent in the formation, or rather in the use, 
of all the terms in the Goth, dialects, which have been men- 
tioned as apparently allied, and which at any rate are of 
the same meaning. 

Su.G. ty, thy, quod, quia, is the dative or ablative of 
then, ille. Su.G. thi is also used in the nominative for qui. 
Isl. thui bears the same relation to harm, ille. Moes.G. 
thei, theei, seems merely the abbreviation of thoei, quod, 
in the nominative and accusative ,* unless it should be viewed 
as the nominative plural of saei, qui, which is thaiei. It 
may be remarked, by the way, that the same rule is observ- 
able in the use of another term used in Moes.G., in ren- 
dering on in the sense of quod. This is thatei, which is 
merely another pronoun signifying qui, quae, quod. Thatei 
quha is quodcunque, whatsoever, Joh. J 4. 13. chap. 15. 
7. 16, — strictly analogous to •«; fox quha is rendered all- 
quid, vi. In like manner, quhan, which signifies quia, 
seems abbreviated from quhana the accusative of quhas, quis, 
interrogatively used also for aliquis. 

A.S. thi, thy, is the ablative of the article, and of the 
pronoun equivalent to Lat. is. It is also used for qui, 
quae, quod. Thy is therefore synonymous with Lat. co. 
Sometimes a preposition is used, when the idea of cause 
is expressed ; as, for thy, pro eo, propter ea, ea de causa ; 
at other times it is omitted. This gives a key to the for- 
mation of many other adverbs. The preposition had been 
either originally used before the noun, or understood. Mid 
thy, thus came to signify quando, when ; literally meaning 
in eo, which Lye properly supplies, thus, in eo [tempore], 

Alem. thiu and diu, forming the nominative and accusa- 
tive feminine of the article, the adverb bithiu had been 
formed in the same manner, as A.S. jorthy ; bi signifying 
propter, and thiu, hoc or hanc, so as to be equivalent to 
propterea. 



OF ADVERBS. 129 

I shall only add as a collateral proof of this mode of ap- 
plication, that Isl. er, signifying ut, as a conjunction; quod, 
eo quod, quoniam, as an adverb ; is from the pronoun er 
qui, like <iti from ~k. V. Gl. Eddae in vo. 



CHAPTER II. 



OF ADVERBS. 



Of 'Ait -, 'At/, 'uvrl, ctv6i, civQtS) ccvrag ; v £t< ; Nitohv ; 
Hvv, tvvij vv J and "0(K8 ? clpx. 

'Aii, semper. 

By the poets this adverb is written kn), which some 
learned writers have supposed to be the original form of 
ihe word, the letter t being afterwards ejected. It also 
assumes the form of *»>, retaining the same sense. 0g©< 
dth tivris, Homer. 11. a. 290. Dii semper existentes. 

1. It denotes perpetual duration. Of this no other proof 
is necessary than the passage just now quoted. Moes.G. 
am has the same use. It is properly a noun, but often 
used adverbially. It occurs in Matt. 9. 33. with the nega- 
tive prefixed, according to the correction of Benzelius and 
Sotberg. Ni aiw swa uskunth was in Israela : ' Not ever/ 
i. e. ' Never was it so known in Israel/ — Tkatei aizc swa 

I 



130 OF ADVERBS. 

ni gasequhun : literally, ' That ever so not saw^ we ; Mar. £. 
12.' — Ni thanaseiths us thus aizc manna akranmatjai; l Not 
henceforth from thee ever man fruit eat;' Mar. 11. 14. In 
Gr. the noun aim is used ; %U ™ ulam. Junius conjectures 
that this noun had been formed of the adverb «s* and it, q. 
* being always f Gl. Goth. 

2. The Gr. adverb often has a preposition prefixed. 
Thus %U uu occurs for iii, sometimes written in a composite 
form, uu-etii, iu perpetuum. This is the most common con- 
struction of the Moes.G. word. Du aizca exactly corresponds 
to ih out. Sunns zcisith du aizca : ' The Sou abideth ever ;' 
Joh. 8. 35. Sometimes the preposition is una 1 , usque. 
1 He spake to our fathers, Abrahama j ah f raize is una 1 aizc, 
to Abraham and to his seed for ever ; Luk. 1. 55. It also 
frequently appears in a plural form. J ah zculthus in aizcins: 
i And glory for ever;' Matt. 6. 13. analogous to the phra- 
seology in the original, 'h Vo\<x. %U t&s awmg. 

3. 'A« is used with the article prefixed, 'o di) %^^, ae- 
ternum tempus ; «» beiug understood. The article is some- 
times prefixed to aizc. ISi galeikoth amis thamma aizca : 
6 Be not conformed to the zcorld;' Rom. 12. 2. In other 
instauces it is affixed. Jah in aizca thamma quimandin 6- 
bain aizceinon : ' And in the zcorld to come life everlasting ;' 

Luk. 18. 30. Ktci If t» ecian ra i^op.iw ^aiiv cciantr. 

4. 9 Aii is sometimes used adjectively. This appears from 
the phrase in Homer already referred to. One nearly pa- 
rallel occurs in Xenophon. 0< xiu 2ms Shot, immortales dii. 
Both Junius and lhre mention a similar phrase used by 
Ulphilas, which I have not been able to find. This is aiica 
dage, dies aeterni. V. Specim. Gloss. Ulph. 



OF ADVERBS. 131 

5. 'Ati signifies continually ; in the place of c-wtpck, sine 
ulla interruptione. 

» ■■■ 'At>o S' ctWv tftov Ttttt^mx g£y#. Odyss. /3. 

1 But two were continually engaged in their father's con- 
cerns.' — Sah than skalks ni wisith in garda da aiwa ; suuus 
wisith du aizca : ' The servant abideth not in the house for 
ever : but the Son abideth ever;' Joh. 8. 35. i. e. he con- 
tinues to reside there* 

6. 'a*/ does not always give the idea of perpetual dura- 
tion, but sometimes denotes a short space, or limited por- 
tion of time. The following passage has been brought in 
proof of this meaning : 



- 5/ E#6>v jcotoy Ipfims uiU Homer. II, 



— l Still retaining his indignation without interruption.' That 
am is used in this sense appears from Rom. 12, 2. referred 
to above ; also from Luk. 20. 34. Sunjus this aizcis, ' the 
children of this generation.' 

The A.S. use a, aa, as signifying semper. A zvorld, in ae- 
vum, in aeternum; Ex. 21.6. Like the Moes.G. term, how- 
ever, it sometimes denotes continuation without the idea of 
perpetuity : Aa oth aefen ; Ad vesperum usque ; Bed. 5. 6. 
In Isl. aezce, by contraction ae, signifies aevum. Urn aldur 
oc aeve, in perpetuum; aevanlega, id. Verel. Ind. It is also 
written aefe and aefi ; and like aim is often applied to deuote 
the life of man, or the duration of one generation. Hence 
the phrase mentioned above is literally rendered, A progenie 
in progeniem; aejilolc, vitae exitus, aefisaga, commemoratio 
historica vitae et rerum gestarum hujus vel illius hominis; 
id. Hence the verb, eg aefe, aefde, continuo, verso. Both 
Verel. and Gudm. Andreae seem to view aeve as the root of 

I 2 



332 OF ADVERBS. 

the modern term Adventure. Verelius quoted Herraud. Sag. 
c. 1. for aejintyr, which he defines, Historica narratio jucun- 
da; analogous to Sw . aefwentyr. Gudm. Andr. says; Aefen- 
tyr, eventur, fabula ; p. 5. Ei is also used for semper in 
lsl.; whence eilifd aeternitas, quasi vita sempiterna ; A.S. 
eaelife, id. 

Su.G. ae, aeae, e, ee, semper. Nu och ae, nunc et semper; 
Chron. Rhythm, p. 122. Som ee aer lyf, och aiding doedh; 
ubi semper est vita, et nunquam mors ; Hammars Tridj.- 
Raett, ap. Ihre. Ae ok ae uppi, in aeternum ; Heims Kr. 
Aefzte or aefe also signifies the period of life, an age. Hence 
eivig eternal. 

In Franc, it takes the form of io and ieo, signifying semper, 
perpetuo. It is said of God, Er istio einer, ist ieo dassefba; 
Ipse est sane solus, unicus, est perpetuo idem; Notker. 
It is also written ie; and hence ieuuescon aeternus; Gl. Lips. 
I need scarcely observe that Eng. ay, ever, is evidently the 
same term. 

Wachter calls this a Celtic word ; because in Cambro- 
Brit. eu signifies semper. But this only proves that the 
Celtic nations had it in common with the Goths. There 
can be no doubt that, in its various forms, it is radically the 
same with diu. Ihre refers to the obsolete Gr. particle oil, 
as synonymous with this. We can scarcely suppose that the 
adverb was formed from mm, but vice versa. As we have seen, 
that the article is sometimes used with ecu, and that it has 
often a preposition prefixed ; it gives considerable ground for 
supposing that, like Moes.G. caw, it was originally a noun. 
As the Greeks, from what was certainly their noun, formed the 
adjective diuvtc?, the Moeso-Goths had their aineins aeternus. 
Soh than ist so aizceino libains: l This then is that eternal 
life;' Job. 17. 3. i alaviog £*i». Ulphilas also uses ajukdath 
.as a noun. Libaith in ajnkduth ; l shall live for ever:' Job. 
(5. 51. 58. The origin of this I cannot pretend to a- 
when Ihre gives it up. I shall only say, that, as Wachter ac- 



OF ADVERBS. 133 

counts for the Anglo-Saxons using aece, ece, for aeternus, instead 
of ezcig like the Germans, by asserting that they would not 
acknowledge w in the middle of a word, but substituted c; it 
seems more reasonable to suppose, that their aece had some 
affinity to ajukduth, the last syllable of this word most pro- 
bably forming no part of the root. 

Lat. aev'iim has obviously a common origin; and indeed 
more nearly resembles the Goth, terms, especially according 
to the manner in which the northern nations pronounces as 
v, than it does mm. 

I shall only further observe, that Arab, abai signifies eter- 
nity; and abad an age, also eternal. 

Ail, ctvii, uvdi } uvQU) ecvra^f rursum, retro. 

The affinity between these and any of the Goth, adverbs 
*s not so obvious as in some other instances, lhre, however, 
classes then) with Moes.G. aftra, lsl. aptur, Alem. after 9 A.S. 
eft. Junius says that the Moes.G. and A.S. particles may 
be viewed as formed from *Zdi, ' if indeed it be supposed that 
the ancient Greeks pronounced utpfa for uZ6i.' It is perhaps 
a more natural supposition, that the ancient Aeolians used a 
letter or sound corresponding lo our v, instead of «; thus 
pronouncing dvn, as if written avte. This would approach 
very near to the sound of A.S. aeft or eft, ancient Su.G. ifti, 
auft, iifti. Homer, according to lhre, vo. Efter, uses «vr«g 
ixi as signifying, postea vero. Perhaps the learned writer 
refers to the following passage : 

'Ai/Ttfg Offer' avTo7<ri (Zihos \%ivivk\$ that's. II. ». 51. 

* But afterwards sending forth a deadly shaft on them.' 
*A«r«g, however, here retains its usual meaning, but; it is evi- 
dently «W« that signifies afterwards. Alem. auur, auor, 
auar, after, have more the form of the Gr. primitive term *i 

i 3 



154 OF ADVERES. 

used in this sense; only it must be supposed that r or ar had 
been added. When the AJem. adverb is written abur, it be- 
comes more similar to the Moes.G. preposition afar post. 
It indeed appears in the latter form in Alem., also afar. 
Hence afaron, axaton, recipere, restituere. V. Schilter. 
Notwithstanding the exact verbal analogy, it cannot well be 
supposed that there is any affinity with Gr. »<£><*£, statim, con- 
tinuo. 

In the Franc, this adverb appears as achter. Schilter has 
observed, that the Belgae and the inhabitants of Lower 
Saxony change f into the guttural sound ch ; as, sticht for 
stiff. In the ancient ritual of Cologu, this question is found ; 
Endi gi/ouis thu Unas achter dotha'f Credisne vitam post 
mortem? Achter thiu, posteaquam ; Capitul. Franc, iv. 19- 
Kilian, in his Teutonic Dictionary, explains achter as signi- 
fying retro, post; and it retains this sense in Belg. The 
resemblance may be merely accidental; but the adverb in 
this form has more similarity to Heb. *tf7N> ^J7Ni ahhar, 
ahhari, post; whence "WIN, ahhor, posterius, and AHI1K, 
ahharith, posterita«, in Arab, akkarvnd. It can be more 
easily conceived, that a term, passing through so many gener- 
ations as had elapsed from the time that the Goths left the 
regions of the east, should be changed from ahhar to afar, 
than that those possessing a neighbouring province should 
change it from aftar to achter. It may perhaps be viewed 
as a proof of affinity to the oriental terms, that Moes.G. 
afar, rendered by Junius vices, is now generally understood 
to mean progenies, posteritas; as analogous to A.S. afora, 
eafora, id. and Franc, abar, abara, auara, filius, proles. V. 
Ulph. Illustr. p. 276. 

Su.G. ater signifies rursum, retro ; also, iterum. Ga ater 
a bak* inversis yestigiis recedere. Ater igen is used by a 
pleonasm for rursus. It has also an adversative sense, like 
Gr. «t«§ and uink^ as corresponding to sed, veiiun. Jag 
ater tror thetj Ego vero contra hoc credo. V. lure in vo. 



~^ 



OF ADVERES. 135 



,; Et;, adhuc, etiam. 
1. 3/ Er* is used as an adverb in the sense of adhuc, etiara- 

num. Kelt IIv 8 cdco got trt $vo pcvvotg oc^ovrog 'AOqvotU/g ; ' PyttlO- 

dorus, as yet, for two months discharging the magistracy at 
Athens;' Thucyd. lib. 2. — A.S. get, geta f and gyt, are com- 
monly used in the same sense. I need scarcely observe, that, 
in A.S., the letter g before e seems to have been a sort of 
guttural in the beginning of words. Hence it came to be 
written and pronounced as y, in the formation of the Eng. 
language. Thus get assumed the form of yet, 

A.S. get and gyt often occur for m. Tha he thas thing 
tha gyt spraec to tham maenegum, i While he yet talked 
to the people/ or ' multitude/ &c. Matt. 12. 46. that is 
* while he continued to speak.' And nu gyt her is aemtig 
stow ; ' And yet there is room ;' Luk. 14. 22. The corres- 
pondent term in the version of Ulphilas is nauh, now. This 
is the word used, indeed, in most other passages in which 
gyt occurs in A.S. 

Gyt is also given as the translation of ^jj,jam, already; 
as in Mar. 15. 44. Tha zcundrode P Hat us gyfhe iha gyt 
forthferde ; ' And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead/ 
Juthan occurs here in Moes.G. Ith Pilatus sildaleikida ei 
is juthan gaswalt? At first view juthan and gyt might ap- 
pear radically allied. $ut the former seems compounded of 
ju jam, nunc, and than turn or autem, 

2. The Gr. conjunction also signifies porro, amplius. 
T/ *-{«$ rxroig 6t< ; ' What still besides/ or ' in addition to, 
these ?' Demost. Philipp. 2. — A.S. gyt is used in this 
sense, Joh. 12. 35. Nu gyt ys lytel leoht on eow : l Yet a 
little while is the light with you ; that is, ? the light shall 
continue with you for a short time.' Also in chap. 13. 33. 

l 4 



ISO OF ADVERBS, 



<a beam, nu gyt ic eom gehwaede tid mid epzc :' < Little 
lildren, yet a little while I am with you.' v Et< ftiKfiv is the 



Lc 

childi 

Gr. phrase in both places. — Mm gewilnige zee gyt cythera : 
1 What need we any further witnesses/ or rather, ' any wit- 
nesses further ?' Mar. 14. 63, Tiwn %%tixv t%*pn (ax?^ui\ 



3. 5/ Er* is sometimes rendered jam inde, from henceforth. 
In this manner Erasmus explains Luk. 1. 15. Kxi -xn'-jtAXTts 
ay in irhnQqcrsTzi 'in Ik xoih('x$ fuirfis ccvtS ; 'And he shall be 
filled with the holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb f 
Jam inde ab utero matris suae. And he lith gefylled on 
haligum Gaste, thonne gift of his modor innotlie ; A.S. The 
term used by Ulphilas is nauhthan, which properly signifies 
au!huc. 

4. The A.S. adverb is occasionally applied to the present 
time, in the sense of jf&i, jam, mod6, Lye, Benson ; ■ modo, 

f Somner. This sense is retained iu Germ.jetz, which 
seems originally the same with A.S. get. But the Germ, 
adverb is liimted to the present time, jam, nunc ; Wachter. 

5. The Goth., like the Gr. particle, is used as a conjunc- 
tion, in the sense of etiam, insuper, praeterea. Thus the 
phrase, v h£" sti c:-th, has been explained, Atque etiam dabit ; 
Horn. II. x. 96. V. Scapul. Others, however, render it, Et 
adhuc dabit. *Et< nhvf, atque etiam; Demost. *Bi 
quinetiam, insuper. A.S. thaenne gi/t, adhuc etiam j insuper, 
Lye ; gyt sothre, im6 verius, yea, more truly ; get ma, 
praeterea, moreover, yet more ; Somner. 

There is a considerable resemblance between %ri and Cam- 
bro-Brit. etzca, ctto, adhuc, etiam, iterum. 

" Te/,"says Home Tooke, "is nothing but the imperative 
get ov gyt of gytan, obtinere." Div. ef Parley, I. 179- This 
etymon he supports by no proof but one of an analogical 
kind, which had better been withheld. " Akate, and even 



OF ADVERBS. 137 

algates," he says, a when used adversatively by Chaucer, I 
suppose, though so spelled, to mean no other than All-get." 
Had not this acute writer been so much blinded by the love 
of system, that he was determined, per fas aut nefas, to find 
an origin for every Eng. particle in some A.S. verb, he must 
have observed, with a single glance of his mental eye, that 
algate and algates have no connection whatsoever with the 
verb to get, but are formed according to that analogy which 
in various languages marks the formation of synonymous ad- 
verbs ; as, Lat. omnimodb, Ital. tutta via, Belg. aller-zcege, 
A.S. ealle zcaega, every way, Old Eng. alxcay. He would 
even have found in this language the very term al-geats, 
" omnifariam, all manner of wayes ; item omnino, altogether; 
Chaucero, algate ; v Somner. Had he consulted Lye, he 
would have met with the term algeats, omnifariam, omnino. 
It is incontrovertibly from A.S. al omnis,and geat a way. 

It forms a considerable objection to the derivation of get 
from getan, to get, that the term does not include the idea 
of acquisition, but of continuance. It seems extremely 
doubtful if get be of A.S. origin ; as no verb occurs, of a 
similar form, to which it seems to have any affinity in signi- 
fication. / 

"En, still in some respect giving the idea of time or dura- 
tion, may have been radically allied to sW annus, in the da- 
tive iTu, which might easily be changed into 'in. It is used 
by Thucydides, indeed, in this case, without a preposition ; 
which seems to indicate its transition to an adverbial form. 
y Em /MTV ia<» kxacnv IfjjKeirr&j cLvxrclvTis ; ' Haviug risen up in 
the sixtieth year after the destruction of Troy.' Hence, in 
conversation, it might naturally be transferred to an indefinite 
time, in reference to the future. 

Those, who are attached to oriental etymons, might pre- 
fer Heb. 7ty, od, adhuc, amplius, porro ; iterum, denuo, as 
the origin of 8t#i 



138 OF ADVERB*. 

( 

Hulto, ab imo fundo aut loco. 

This word, it is said by Gr. lexicographers, is used for 
ruxrlOi*, formed from motxto$, novissimus, infimus, the super- 
lative from no? novus. Hesychius gives ntlhr as equivalent 
to xjcrufoi, ab ima parte, and »e<ot«t«» to x.xto>txt<>v. Homer 
uses the phrase, vuokv be K*$ir,;, as signifying, imo ex corde ; 

11. K. 10. 

It is not improbable, that miim has, without reason, been 
viewed as a contraction of ntctrofot. There are such strong 
symptoms of affinity between this and the terms used in the 
same sense in the various dialects of the Goth., that it is not 
surprising that northern writers have claimed ntiht as a scion 
from their own stock. It nearly resembles A.S. neothan, 
Alem. nidan, Su.G. nedan, denoting motion from a lower 
place. A.S. ncoth, Alem. nidar, Isl. nedan, Su.G. ned> 
Belg. neden, Germ, niden, Eng. neath in be-neath, all have 
the sense of infra* 

Nv», >vv, Lat. Nunc ; N*, particula expletiva. 

1. Nu> is used, in relation to the present time, in the same 
sense with its derivative nunc. Pers. nuh, Moes.G. nu, 
tmnUf A.S. Alem. Isl. and Su.G. nu, Germ, nu, nun, and 
Eng. nozc, have all precisely the same signification. Num-r 
also occurs in Isl. in the sense of jam jam. Gudm. Andreae 
gives it as the synonyme of Gr. m. Thus in Moes.G. 
Dauhtar mc'uia nu gusicalt ; ' My daughter is even nam 
dead;' Matt. 9- 18. where it is substituted for »pi in Gr. 

2. It is used with a preposition prefixed. 'Axi t* tZr, 
posthac, ex hoc, ab hoc nunc. 'Ato tS m pHNgMw* ,«« ***** 



OP ADVERBS. 159 

ul yens*/; ' From henceforth all generations shall call me 
blessed ;' Luk. 1 . 43. In Moes.G. Sai allis fram himma 
nu audangand mik alia kunja. Also in chap. 5. 10. e A^o t£ 
vvv dvfyaiTMe '(a-* ^ay^av ; ' From henceforth thou shalt catch 
men. 9 Moes.G. Fram himma nu marine sind nutans ; lite- 
rally, from this now, himma being the dative of the pronoun 
signifying hie. 

3. Nvv has the signification of ergo, igitur, itaque. 

©se>7(7< ( «.sv vvv ky. trx/tsvov <t lya), 

OvT o'i'^i Kauris, \TJ>p.iv§ tyiriot, 

Kg/vovTgg. Sophocl. Oed. v. 31. 

* I, therefore, and these boys, sitting at thy doors, do not in- 
deed judge thee equal to the gods.' — Moes.G. nu and nunxt 
frequently occur in this sense, being used for ovv in the ori- 
ginal. Sijaith nu jus fullatojai ; ' Be ye therefore perfect; 
Matt. 5. 43. Ni nunii ogeith izwis ; 'Fear them not there- 
fore? chap. 10. 26. In Isl. it is equivalent to therefore ; 
Huad mun nu herran vijngardsins giera til ? ' What shall 
therefore the lord of the vineyard do ?' Mar. 12. 9. 

4. Nv is used as an expletive particle. This holds also as 
to Moes.G. nu, sometimes written nuh. Hindarleitha nuh, 
kumbei ; ' Go, and sit down to meat;' Luk. 17-7. Here, 
as Junius and Lye have observed, it is evidently redundant. 
Su.G. nu not only signifies jam, nunc ; but is also used re- 
dundantly. Na aer til konungsrikit Szcerike Konunge wael- 

jande och ey arficande : Ad regnum Sueciae rex eligendus 
est, non jure successions assumendus ; Ihre in vo. Palthe- 
nius, in his annotations on Tatian, p. 400, observes, that 
Alem. n it is often used as an expletive. 



140 OF ADVERBS, 

( 

v Op*, una, simul ; "a^*, siraul cum. 

Ihre has remarked the affinity between these adverbs and 
some Goth, particles. He mentions A.S. emne and Alem. 
emme as synonymous. They have, indeed, evidently had the 
same meaning, in composition, with Lat. con. Thus emne- 
chritten is co- christian us ; emnescotere, condiscipulus ; em- 
netheozca, conservus; emne-sarian, condolere. Em was 
used in the same way, being like emne equivalent to efen, or 
efn, aequalis. Em-/eoJ, aeque charus ; cm-Iang, ejusdem 
longitudinis ; em-nikt, aequiuoctiurn. The analogy of forma- 
tion between the Goth, and Gr. derivatives, affords an al- 
most incontrovertible proof that they are all sprung from one 
root. As A.S. emne and efen-lice signify aequus, aequalis ; 
Su.G.jaemna aequare, jaemka, aequalem rtddere, jaemniug 
aequalis, Sec. from A.S. em, Su.G. aem, particles denoting 
equality ; the Greeks in like manner from ••*-*« similis, par, 
formed •u.a simul, tfmm similis, ouxx*; aequalis, planus. 'Ou.- 
is the radical part of the word onog ; and the vowel can be no 
objection, for it must be viewed as originally the same term 
that assumed the form of olftz. This indeed most nearly 
resembles a primitive. 

Ihre says, that the more aucient northern writers have trans- 
mitted aem. Hence, in the laws of East Gothland and of Sca- 
nia, they have the phrases, aemiag kommin, qui ad aequam re- 
rum dispositiouem pervenit; aemj) ak, aeque vegetus ; aei 
aeque compendiosus ; aemgod y aeque bonus, (in the laws of 
Jutland, omgod); aemlik, aequalis ; acmstark, aeque fords ; 
aemzcael, aeque bene, and even aemjacmt, which is an evi- 
dent pleonasm. 

By reason of the addition of the letter n to aem or an in 
some dialects, or from a different conformation of organs, 
emn seems to have been pronounced differently, M being 



OF ADVERBS. 14* 

changed inte b orf; as in Moes.G. ibn, Alera. eban, Swed. 
efwen, Dan. jeffh, lsl.jafn, Belg. effen, Eng. even, aequus, 
aequalis. 

A.S. em-tzca signifying medius, ' between both, indifferent, 
doubtful,' (Somner,) as properly denoting one who holds him- 
self equally towards two ; it is conjectured, by the learned 
lexicographer formerly mentioned, that Gr. *?,«<, or qpto-v, 
dimidium, might convey the same idea, as denoting a whole 
divided into equal parts. As the ancient Goths, at their 
feasts, appointed a trial of the power of those who claimed 
excellence ; Ihre supposes that Ipixxdopoit certo, aemulor, 
and Lat. aemulus, aemulari, may be traced to aemningar, 
the name given to such rivals. He also views Gr. o^Xtl f 
coaevus, as allied to Su.G. jaemnaeldrig, A.S. efene-ald) 
aetate par ; and epulis, which Hesychius gives as equivalent 
to o t uoio$, as perhaps originally the same with Su.G. jaemfor, 
qui aequalis bonitatis est. 

In lsl. we find jamna aequare ; jemrif, aeque longum ; 
jamnan, semper, quasi quod uno tenore rluit et sine inter- 
ruption; jawframt, un&, simul, which, according toGudm. 
Andr., is the ancient form of the word now written jafnan. 

To the same origin we ought certainly to trace Alem. em- 
mazzig, Germ, emasig, assiduus, diligens, emsigen conten- 
dere. Notker uses ebinchristan in the same sense with A.S. 
emne-christen. Emez, emmiz, and emmizen, signify perpetuo, 
assidu£, Otfrid ; emezen, exercere, Notker ; emmezico, fre- 
quenter, Kero. 

In the barbarous Lat. of the middle ages, conspirators 
are called Hamedii ; according to Ihre, from ham simul, and 
ed juramentum, as being bound to each other by oath. It 
has, however, been supposed that this term should be read 
Samedii. V. Du Cange, in vo. 



142 OF ADVERBS. 



CHAPTER III. 



OF ADVERBS. 



Of"Ot»; Ov, ovx, '°v/,\ Ovyj ; UeXv ; Tliffm, Lat. Porro ; 
XxMiag ; and T«n. 

"Ors, quando, quuni. V. ToV-. 

oj, »v>c, «^, non j Ov/C*) ne r 

The corresponding negatives vary from these, in the Goth, 
tongues, as to the vowels. But such a change is not at all 
to be wondered at, where the national affinity must have 
been very remote ; especially as the Dorians themselves 
sometimes changed «v into «. Thus, in the genitive, instead 
of 'Eg,«8, they said '£^*«. They also substituted i for « ; 
saying 'Atts'xxcov for 'AnoXXav. V. Scapul. in O. For ov they 
used iv. The Aeolians changed «v into «*, and ev> into o<?. 
V. Dunb. Exerc. p. Cy4. 297- With them tv also assumed 
the form of t or »j; as they wrote ^c*n«£y 0? for ptCMftcMf- 
Through the medium of their dialect, it has been asserted 
that the Latins formed haut, afterwards baud, from an. X . 
Vossii Etymol. in On. 

The negative particle assumes a variety of forms in the 
different dialects of the Gothic. In Su.G. it appears as r, ci, 
eigiy eighi, egh, ecke, icke ; in lsl. as eckc, and ait; in Dau. 
as icke. 

It appears in Su.G. as e. At han tok c gagn of th. 



OF ADVERBS. 



145 



kialdu ; t That he did not make use of that fountain ;' Laws 
of East-Gothland, Byg. B. c. 27. lhre also renders ei non. 
He observes, that the Icelanders prefer the harder pronun- 
ciation of ecke, to which Su.G. icke corresponds. But 
Gudm. Andreae seems to give ei as the proper Isl. pronun- 
ciation. Ey, eie, eii, he says, minus accurate eige, non, 
haud, &c. Graecis * velut »#, ecki nee, neque; Lex. p. 58. 
Ecke non, haud, Graecis «». Quando negative quaeritur, 
vulgo responditur icki, alias ecke, nee, neque. Ibid. p. 60. 
In the Glossary to the Edda, ecki is rendered by nihil, and 
said to be the neuter of engi nemo, nullus, from einn-gi, 
used instead of einn-eigi, unus non, ne unus. Ihre affirms 
that all these terms are Greek. 

Isl. au is used in composition as a negative; as, in auvir- 
delegur, non dignandus, contemptibilis, un-worthy ; au-madur 
miser, egenus ; au-kvisi degener. V has the same use ; 
n-aeti, non edenda ; u-aeydi/ig, infiniti ; u- aflat anliga, inde- 
sinenter, u-faer, debilis, infirmus ; u-falr, non venalis ; u~ 
feigr, morti hoc tempore non destinatus, Scot, no fey. V. 
Verel. Ind. Dan. u-boeden, unbidden, u-betraad, not beat- 
en or trodden, &c. Both in Su.G. and Isl., o is used in the 
same manner. 



noXv, multum, valde. 
1. UoXv is adverbially used by itself. 



'Exu fto\v fixXofAoii ocvtw 



oUoi '{%€** Horn. II. u. 112. 

' Although I am much inclined to have her at my house.' 
Moes.G.^Yw is exactly correspondent. It occurs interroga- 
tively for jroc-ev, Luk. 16. 7. Quhan jilu skalt ; 'How 
much owest thou f* Feala and fela are used in A.S. signify- 



144 OF ADVERBS. 

ing multi, but rather in an indeclinable form. r Alem. filu, 
jilo, multum. Filu ezzaleer, multura edax, voracious; 
Kero, c. 31. So Jilu, tantum ; so Jilu so, quantum, analo- 
gous to Moes.G. sua jilu size, whatsoever, as much as, Mar. 
10. 21. 

C. TioXv, conjoined with a comparative or superlative, sig- 
nifies multo, longe. UoXv-xXzi^, l much greater;' Demosth.; 
toXv <p'i£txto'„ l much more tolerable;' Homer. 11. «. Thus 
also the Moes.G. term. Filu mais hropida; ' He cried the 
more a great deal,' or ' much more he cried ;' Mar. 10. 4S. 
to\Xu pctxxov v^mfyt. Alem. Jilo vordarora, longe melior. 
Teut. reel, multum, has the same application, feet gheleerder, 
multo doctior. 

3. It is often used in composition. fhX mk iy* multiloquus; 
voXvXoyix, multiloquia. This is the Gr. term, Matt. 6. 7-, 
where Llphilas says, Thunkeith im auk ei in Jiluiiaurdein 
seinai a)id/tausjai?idau ; * For they think that they in much 
speaking shall be heard.' Alem. filu sprehha ; multum lo- 
qui; filosprahhala, magniloquam, fdosprahaler, verbosus. 
Moes.G. filugalaubis occurs for vatamyHi ; Joh. 12. 3. 'very 
precious.' 

Teut. veel is, in like manner, used in composition ; reel- 
gaetegh, multiforus, veel-iaer'^h, anuosus; veel-seggigh, mul- 
tiloquus ; leel-ioudigh, multiplex. Germ, vid id., vielgikig 
praepollens, Sec. lsl. JioU in compound tern)S, denotes 
multitude, abundance ;jiol-brei/tinn, varius in omnibus modis; 
Jiol-bj/gt land, terra culta et populosa ; Jiol-kyndi, multisci- 
entia ; Jiol-maelgur, loquax ; Jiol-menni, multi tudo, turba. 
Fiolga appears as a verb, signifying multiplicare. Verel. 
Ind. Gudm. Andreae mentions the noun Jieldc, multitudo. 

I have elsewhere shewn that Scot, feil, fele, fell, has the 
same meaning. It is used both as an adjective and adverbial- 
ly. The phrase jeil men, many men, corresponds to lsl. jiol- 



OF ADVERBS. 145 

menni mentioned above ; and fell zveel, remarkably well, to 
Alem.Jilu zcola, optime. V. Etymolog. Diet. vo. feil. 

Moes.G. Jilu is to be viewed as originally an adjective. 
Manageins Jilu, ' much people/ a great multitude ; Joh. 
12. 12. turba multa, Jun. Gl.; in Gr. o^xo^ voxi/s. This 
seems also to have been the original use of the Alem. term ; 
as iu Germ, and Belg. viele and veel still retain the signifi- 
cation of many. 



ni'tfcj, Lat. Porro ; procul, longe*. 

I have mentioned the apparent affinity of this adverb to 
Moes.G. fairra, id. under nsg«- - } but it deserves more parti- 
cular attention. It may, indeed, seem an objection to the 
idea of any connexion between vitfoi and fairra, that the 
latter has been viewed as allied to n^x. But although, by 
grammarians, k(o has been given as the root of a-Jpp*, we are 
under no necessity of assuming this as certain ; especially as 
this etymon supposes rather a violent change. There can be 
no doubt, that there are strong marks of relationship between 
the latter and the Moes.G. term. 

1. It has been said that K<>lfo primarily siguifies, longe 
ante se. This, indeed, proceeds on the ground of its deduc- 
tion from vgo. But, whether this idea be well founded or 
not, it is evident that fairra may admit of this interpretation. 
Thus it is said, Nauh thanuh fairra imma zcisandin, insand- 
jands aim bidjith gaztairthjis ; l While the other is yet a 
great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth condi- 
tions of peace ;' Luk. 14. 32. 'Et< ocvrz nopfe ov?6$. That is, 
* while the army of his adversary is before him, or advancing 
towards him.' The same view may be taken of another 
passage, in which fairra occurs for pax^y. Nauh thanuh 
than fairra zcisandan ; i When he was yet a great zcay off;'' 

K 



146 OF ADVERBS. 

chap. 15. ^0. Andtha gyt tha he zcaes feorr hysfaeder; A.S. 
vers. Here the prodigal may be viewed as fronting his 
father, being on his way to him. A.S. fporr, which resembles 
the Gr. adverb more nearly in its vowels, has the power of a 
preposition. 

<2. nonpar is used in a general sense, as equivalent to procul. 
Tlojipa tks inAMff, procul ab urbe ; Demosth. Thus, when it 

IS Said, iNJalt. \j. 8. H 01 kx^oix xvtav Trcffu sc7ri%it X7T luov, 111 

the A.S. it is rendered, And hyra heorte ys feorr from me. 
In the parallel passage in Mar. 7- 6. fear occurs. In Moes.G. 
it is; 1th haii to ize fairra habuith sik mis. It is the same 
in the Gr. as in the other gospel. 

3. From riff* is formed-- an adverb in the comparative, 
9rtfpp«>T*g«/, longius, magis procul. The similarity is peihaps 
merely accidental as to the termination ; but the ancient 
Goths used fairrathro. Gamotidcdun imma taihnn thruts- 
fillai mans, thai gastothun fairrathro ; * There met him ten 
leprous men, who stood afar q*7V Luk. 17. 12. Thattod- 
on h ig feo rra rt, A . S . ; o < «Vi«« > in p p »k r . 



?.kxius, sinistre. 

This is from c-KXilg, siuister, Lat. scaeius. As denoting 
what was on, or inclining to, the left, the Gr. term had been 
transferred to any thing reckoned unfortunate, or of evil 
omen; evidently from the absurd system of augury. It also 
signified inept us ; as probably referring to an omen which, 
being unfavourable, indicated that the action in view was 
improper, or that the time was unfit. The transition from 
this to the sense of stupid us, stolid us, and hence to rustic us, 
was easy ; as the term was applied to one who acted impro- 
perly, of consequence umcise/y, and who manifested the 



OF ADVERBS. 147 

ignorance imputed to mere boors. We may indeed, sup- 
pose a more direct transition, from what was physically 
oblique, to distortion of intellect. It is supposed that the 
adjective was formed from md£* 9 claudico, titubo, to halt, 
to stagger, to stumble. But tncoitU has greater appearance 
of originality than the verb ; and if we suppose obliquity to 
be the idea primarily attached to <rx.otio;, it would rather be 
an argument for inverting the etymon, by deriving the verb 
from the adjective. 

Learned writers do not view g-kuios as the radical term, 
but refer to xua, cavo, to hollow out. V. Lennep in vo. 
They seem, however, to have overlooked the proper root 
of a-Kxiosy which is undoubtedly Gothic. This is ska, skaa, 
an inseparable particle still retained in Isl., corresponding 
to Lat. dis, di. 

1. 2x«<o? signifies sinister, laevus. From Isl. skaa is form- 
ed skaavemad)', which Gudm. Andr. renders scaevola, by 
Avhich he undoubtedly means, a left-handed man. For Varro 
says that scaexola is derived from scaeva, denoting one who 
uses the left hand instead of the right. V. Fabri Thesaur. 

2. Zy-cify, the cognate of the adjective, signifies to halt. 
This nearly approaches to the meaning of the Goth, par 
tide. For from Isl. ska was formed skack-ur, impar, dis- 
par. Need I refer to the reason, or remind the reader, 
that, ' the legs of the lame are not equal f Skaegeltaend, 
qui dentes habet serratos ; skag-a, deflectere. 

Hence many terms still used in Scot, as signifying distor- 
tion ; to shach, pronounced with a guttural sound, to put 
out of proper shape, having for its participle past shacht, 
heshacht ; to shackle, id. ; to sliochle, to shuffle in walking ; 
shachl'dfeet, distorted feet ; to skellie, to look asquint, Old 
Eng. to look askile; skellie, asquint look. Gr. wox-us, ob- 
liqims, is undoubtedly allied ; immediately formed perhaps 

k2 



148 OF ADVERBS. 

from c-Kctios. Su.G. skil-ia, disjuugere, seems^also to claim 
ska as its origin. 

Apud metricos, says Scapula, etiam iambi <rx«£s/» dicun- 
tur quorum ultimus pes est spondaeus. It is singular, that 
in Isl. the cognate term is applied to denote inequality in 
rhythm. Skaahendr, disjunctae strophae in metris et rhyth- 
mis; Gudm. Andr. ubi sup. 

3. The Gr. adjective signifies inept us ; c-xxta? inepte. Isl. 
skaafull is disconveniens ; skack-a, dirimere ; a skazid, dis- 
junctim, separatim ; Eng. askezi; ; Su.G. ligia skafoettes, 
divaricata crura alterius capiti obvertere. A.S. scad-an, 
dividere. 

4. It signifies stupidus, stolidus. This sense corresponds 
to Scot. skaivie, harebrained, North of England scare. 
This is merely Isl. skeif-r, Dan. skiaer, Su.G. skcf, Germ. 
schiej] Belg. scheef, obliquus, transferred to the mind ; as 
signifying that it has lost its proper position or bias. V. 
Etymol. Diet. vo. shacii, skellie, and skaivie. 

Gudm. Andreae remarks the resemblance of Isl. skaga, 
deflecto, devio, gradu feror obliquo, to Heb. iT3'£\ shagah, 
errare. It is not, indeed, unlikely that the ancient particle 
ska may have an oriental origin. But there are other Heb. 
words to which the resemblance is fully as great ; rntf, 
shuahh, inclinari, propendere, and nn$, shahhahh, curva- 
tus est, incurvavit se, whence !7tf, shahh, depressus. 



Tots, tunc, tum. 

"On, and ron being relative terms, it seems best to con- 
sider them conjunctly. 

"Ots signifies quando, quum. Hire mentions *nu, which 
has the same meaning, as a synonyme of Moe>.G. than, 



OF ADVERBS* 149 

Isl. tha, Su.G. ta, id. But the learned writer has evidently 
fixed on orxv in preference to on, because of the similarity 
of the termination to the Moes.G. adverb. "Oruv, however, 
is not an original word, being evidently compounded of o'n 
and on. If, therefore, there be any affinity, it is more na- 
tural to look for it in on. Of this, however, there seems 
to be no satisfactory proof. Nor can this be looked for, 
if the hypothesis of Hoogeveen be well-founded, which has 
at least a great degree of probability on its side. In his 
Doctrin. Particul. c. 37. p. 857- he observes, that as o was 
anciently used by the Greeks for a, it may easily be con- 
ceived that the vowel *, which was subjoined, was frequent- 
ly left out. Thus, he thinks, that, for an the ancients 
wrote ore ,• and that the word was composed of a, quo, and 
n, the expletive and copulative particle, always postponed 
and often redundant. 

Ton is viewed by Ihre as originally the same with Su.G. 
ta, pronounced to : and undoubtedly it has far more resem- 
blance than on, even although n should be excluded as not 
being an essential part of the word. But the learned Hooge- 
veen's theory also cuts off this apparent affinity. For, pro- 
ceeding on the certain ground that Ton is the correlate of on, 
he views the former as written for ran ; explaining his idea 
by the following proof, Matt. 13. £6. "ote £& &xdmM 9 

^o^rog, Koci ku^7tov \7roUcr1, TO'TE iQcivq xeti ret ^i^oivix. It IS 

evident, he says that en and ron are so placed, that the pas- 
sage may be rendered, Quo vero, scil. tempore, progermi- 
navit herba, et fructum fecit, eo (ipso tempore) apparue- 
runt et zizania. Thus, the one, he adds, will contain the 
preposition, and the other the reddition. 

In like manner, Scheide views vlrt, quando, generally 
used interrogatively, as put for Train, compounded of n and 
ir», in the dative or ablative case of the obsolete pronoun 
5tos, 5T», tto, Lat. guis, guae, quod. V. Lennep, Ed. Scheid. 
p. 701. 702. 

k3 



150 OF ADVERBS. 

This theory seems to he confirmed by the apparent for- 
mation of the correspondent adverbs in the Goth, dialects. 
Moes.G. than is used both for zclien and then in relation to 
each other; and A.S. thonne in the same manner. Qiihan, 
in the language of Ulphilas, like hwaenne in A.S., denotes 
quando in an interrogative way, corresponding to xots. But 
in Mar. 4. 12. it signifies at any lime. Nibai quhan ga- 
wandjaina, ' lest at any time they should be converted ;' 
in A.S. Tlielaes hi hzcaenne syn gecyrrede. All the analogy, 
therefore, that can justly be stated, is in regard to the for- 
mation of the terms. 

As tote is said to be formed from t» the dative of the pro- 
noun os, qui, Moes.G. quhan may be viewed as the accusative 
of quhaa quis, contracted from quhana ; and than, tunc, as 
the accusative of the article $a or tluina. The accusative 
is sometimes written by abbreviation than. V. HickeV, 
Gramm. p. 7. The pronoun, corresponding to Lat. qui, 
quae, quod, is merely the article with a affixed in each case. 
The only difficulty here is, that it must be supposed that 
the accusative is used where the dative or ablative would be 
more proper. 

If we look for the Moes.G. dative or ablative, as assum- 
ing a state like that attributed to r* in rin, what if it should 
be found in the Lat. relative adverbs taut and quam, as ab- 
breviations of thamma, signifying in eo, and of quhammo, 
in quo ? 

In A.S. tha is equivalent to both tunc and quando; thonne 
has also both senses; and hzcaenne that of quando. Now 
tha has the same form, not only with the accusative singu- 
lar of the article in the feminine, and the nominative and 
accusative plural ; but it is also used for the ablative tham. 
Tha may therefore be an ellipsis equivalent to the 
phrase used by Bede, p. 4?(i. o\ : M<). 38., tid f 

in isto tempore. The is frequently used as the rendition : 
On tha y lean (id the ; In eodem tempore quo; B±e\. 



OF ADVERBS. 151 

Sometimes tha is repeated as serving this use. The order 
is occasionally inverted, turn being placed first ; Tha he tha 
gehyrde ; Turn ilk quando audivit ; Bed. 48(3. 28. In 
other instances quando precedes. Tha Eadvvine on thani 
gefeohte ofslaegen waes, tha feng to Dera rice his faederan 
sunu Aelfrices Osric. ' When Edwin was slain in that bat- 
tle, then Osric, the son of his father's brother Aelfric, as- 
sumed the government of Ueira ;' Bed. 523. 9- This may 
be rendered ; In eo tempore quo, or vice versa. It is to 
be observed, that the, in the quotation given above, On tha 
ylcan tid the, seems equivalent to tha ; for tha the, and the 
tha, are alike translated, illi qui ; Lye, vo. Tha, accus. 

In Moes.G., indeed, bi the is used for cum % when, as con- 
nected with thanuh, tunc, then. Bi the galithun thai 
brotlirjus is, thanuh jah is galaith ; i IV hen his brethren were 
gone up, then went he also up ;' J oh. 7-10. I have a 
stroug suspicion, that the here, and in many other places, 
although not explained by any of the writers on northern 
antiquities, is an abbreviation, or a variety, of the article in 
the dative or ablative, like A.S. tha and the. If so, bi the 
is an ellipsis for hi the mela, * by this time/ like in tharnma 
mela, in hoc tempore, Mar. 10. 30. 

It may seem to confirm this hypothesis, as far at least as 
refers to A.S. tha aud the, that in the same language thaes, 
rendered ex quo, quando, is in all appearance merely the 
genitive of the relative pronoun, originally signifying cujus ; 
as, Thaes nama, cujus nomen ; Matt. 9. 9, &c. 

It has been observed that A.S. thonue also signifies then 
and when. Now, thone is sometimes put for thatn, as the 
dative and ablative of the article ; as, Ic Beda sende gretan 
thone leofestan Cyninge ; Ego Beda salutem mitto dilectis- 
simo Regi. Bed. Praef. ad Hist. Eccles. V. Hickes, Gram. 
p. 7. Thon is used by Bede for ex eo, Hist. 473. 31. 
With thon the signifies dummodo. The adverb thonne is 

k 4 



152 OF ADVERBS. 

sometimes written thon, in the very same manner as if it 
were a part of the article. V. Lye, Diet. 

Hzcaetie is the accusative of the pronoun hzca, qui, who; 
so that hzcaenne, quando, may have been originally the same. 
As the accusative of the same pronoun is written hzcone, the 
adverb assumes the same form, only with the reduplication 
of the letter n, hzconne. 

Isl. tha is rendered turn, deinde, porro, and mentioned as 
equivalent to Gr. tots,- Gloss. Edd. p. 705. It seems nearly 
allied to than, the accusative feminine of the article, so, sit, 
thad, is, ea, id., also the accusative plural in the masculine. 
Thaa is in like manner the accusative singular of the pronoun 
thesse hicce, signifying hanc. V. Run. Jonae Gramm. Isl. p. 
3. 4. 6<2. 

These examples, viewed in connexion, afford a strong ana- 
logical confirmation of Hoogeveens theory; a continuation 
which the learned writer perhaps never thought of drawing 
from a quarter so uear home. 



OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 153 



CHAPTER IV. 



OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 

Of 'a,- v Ag<, l%i; A*-, Ak, $1%*, Lat. Dis; 
and Nc, vh, Lat. Ne, ni. 

'A. 

1 . The inseparable particle » has in Gr. an intensive power. 
Thus d%ctv*g signifies valde hians, vastum hiatum habens; 
«g|vA0$, liguis plenus. 

' f On tv£ utoqhov h d%vXa> ItiTria-/} i/'a*j. Hottl. II. A. 155. 

* When the consuming fire fell on the inexhaustible wood/ 
In like manner Su.G. alik is valde similis, plane par. Ihre 
mentions «A<yx<o?, similis, as a synonyme; asserting that the 
Greeks had borrowed alik from the Goths, and added their 
own termination. V. Ulph. Illustr. Praef. p. 8. Isl. matkr, 
contracted from mattugr, signifies potens; a-matkr praepo- 
tens, praevalidus. 

Sa inn a-matki jottun ; 

Ille praevalidus gigas. Grimis-Mal. xi. Edda. 

Gudm. Andr. indeed observes, that sometimes in compo- 
sition Isl. aa, like * of the Greek, has an intensive power. 
He gives the following proofs ; aafall impetus, like xnrm 
intentus ; aafeingt ol, fortis potus ; aangnd, magnum malum j 



154 OF INSEPARABLE PAKTIGLES, 

aavoxtur fructus (secundarius;) aafiadur insulfaosus; Lex. 
p. 4. 

It seems to have the same power in Moes.G. From 
standan, to stand, is formed astath, fimdamentum, Luk. 1. 4. 
AVachter asserts that a in A.S. is intensive; referring to a- 
baerian denudare, a-biteran acerbare, a-coren electus, a-dil- 
gean destruere. In Franc, and Alem. abahon is pervertere, 
from bah tergnm; a-w//e;Y// > abjectio, &c. V. Prol. Sect. v. 

A is used in a similar manner in Cambro-Brit. Owen 
gives various examples ; as aball falling, from a intensive, and 
pall id.; afar, affectionate, acaiu to give much, from a and 
car a friend, a relation ; acrwm crooked, from a and erwm id. 

2. 'a in Gr. is very often used in a privative, sense. Bi- 
Zuto-;, stabilis, by having u prefixed, miUx.c:, signifies in?tabilis. 
But examples are unnecessary. The Lat. affords similar 
proofs; as a-me/is, a-vius. In the Goth, dialects this letter 
has the same power. In Alem. wag is via, azveig dewus ; 
amagtig, a being prefixed to magtig potens, is synonymous 
villi Gr. txtow, iinbeciliis; Isl. amaektig. Su.G. auita, like 
uhoyoq, is aniens; aiag iniquitas, from a and lag lex. Isl. 
maeli denotes a stain: amacli, qui sine opprobrio est. 

There are instances of the same use of this letter in A.S 
as in a-gi/ld, without payment or amends. Bat ae is ge- 
nerally used; as, ac-aiclle insipidus, ae-nien/ia hominibus 
nudus, ae-mode mente captus, am< feinutilis, ac-scaere 

incultus, ^cc. Alus occurs in the Lords prayer in ancient A.S., 
being the imperative of atys-an ; Ali/s us from vfefe, Libera 
nos a malo. 

A has the same force in Alem.; as, achat vitium, from a 
and chust virtus, q. a privation of virtue; adeilo expers, from a 
and deil pars; aamwU, liber a tuteia, from a and lnant de- 
fensio. Franc, ateilo, exsors, non particeps. This is evi- 
dently the same with adeilo. 

In later ages Su.G. a } as privative, has assumed the form 



OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 155 

of o, and in Dan. of w; as o-lyk> dissimilis, o-from improbus; 
U'Siind insalubris, u-zciss incertus. 

It has been said, that the privative «, commonly implying 
negation, is merely the preposition £3-0 abbreviated. V. Dnnb. 
Exerc. p. 18S. It forms a strong presumption as to the 
justness of this hypothesis, that in composition the same word 
combined with «, and in other instances with utto, has no 
difference of signification. Thus xr^og has the same mean- 
ing with uTTortpos, inhonoratus, honore carens; uha-rog wich 
dx-oko-Tos, delestabilis, abominandus. Scheide seems to prefer 
deriving a. privative from the preposition «»«, first abridged to 
*v> and then to k. Traces of this origin, he thinks, appear 
in clvav^og effeminatus, kvo^xrog invisibilis, uvoo-pos odoris ex- 
pers, M'J,iX7TTog insperatus; for which, the letter v being left 
out, they said ko^xTog, uoc-^tg, uiX7rTo$. V. Etym. Lennep. p. 
10. But U7r6 has undoubtedly a preferable claim to kvk, 
which in its original signification is extremely remote from 
the idea of privation ; suggesting indeed an idea directly con- 
trary, that of addition or superposition. Had the learned 
writers, who object to kn-o as the origin of k privative, re- 
ferred to knvj sine, absque, they would have at least paid 
more regard to analogy of thought. It is also certain, that 
a considerable number of terms, expressive of privation, have 
been formed by prefixing xnv. But it seems to be merely 
the introduction of the letter v, in order to avoid the un- 
pleasant hiatus, that has suggested the idea of kvk being the 
radical preposition. 

The obvious relation of Lat. ab to **■«, viewed in con- 
nexion with the identity of a and ab in signification, as both 
used by the Romans, affords a strong collateral proof of the 
origin of a privative with the Greeks. 

It also forms no inconsiderable presumption in support of 
this theory, that in the most ancient Goth, writings a/is not 
only used in the same sense with k privative of the Greeks, 
but expressly substituted for it. Thus Ulphilas renders 



156 OF INSEPARALE PARTICLES. 

itfivFFog, Luk. 8. 31. by afgrunditha, in modern Svved. af- 
grund; from af corresponding to k in Gr. and grund fundus, 
q. zcithout bottom. Moes.G. akaks columba, which Junius 
derives from Gr. «x*^ 5 , minime malus, innocens, is by 
Wachter ingeniously viewed as composed of a privative and 
liak hamus, quia non habet ungues aduncos, quibus praedam 
arripiat. Prol. Sect. v. Su.G. afskapad, analogous to Gr. 
ttuitfds, signifies informis, without shape. 

Nor is this all. There are still extant undeniable evidences, 
that by the Goths a and af were used promiscuously. A.S. 
alaetan exactly corresponds to Moes.G. ajiiitan and ajietan 
dimittere. Su.G. aiag, mentioned above, was also written 
qflag. The adjective at least appears m this form, Heims 
Kringla, 1. 734. in the sense of iiiiquus. In Isl. auita 
is synonymous with afzeita, demens, insanus. Verelius gives 
both in his Index Scytho-Scand. 



These are inseparable particles, increasing the signification, 
being synonymous with «»/*» valde. Thus fytfuni is valde 
notus; upioay.^vog, multum lacrymans; «§^>jXe;, valde clams, 
praeclarus. 

'Vux. V oc^iyiur^ Ail; ee*$t><z<ri yinrxi aXxii. Hom. II. c. 4£K). 

1 For truly the power of Jupiter is well* or ' easily know n to 
men.' ? E^< is used precisely in the same manner; a^ \ci2?ow T , 
valde fremens; tgt£gcttfk } valde mugiens. Isl. acrit, >/// 
a similar signification. Est particula intensiva, says Verelius, 
valde, adinodum. Aerit tnargtalar, valde loquax; Sautr. 
Sag. 36. Ind. Scytho-Scand. p. £6. Gudm. Aodr. writes it 
avid, nimium, perquam, multum. It occurs in the form of 
i/rit in the Edda of Saemuud. 



OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES* 157 

Thorr a afl yrit, 

Enn ecci Maria. Harbarz Lioth, 25. 

* Thor possesses abundance of strength, but no mind/ In 
Su.G. it is greatly changed, appearing as yfrit. 

Annan rikedom zvi yfrit agom* 

Alias divitias copiose possidemus. Hist. Alex. Magn. ap. 
Ihre. The learned writer hesitates whether the Su.G. term 
is not rather allied to Gr. l(pi, fortiter, used also as an inten- 
sive particle. It is at times written of wit. 

Aerit is obviously the neuter of lsl. aerinn, abundans, co- 
piosus; aerinn matr, sufficiens cibus; aerinn vande, magna 
difficukas. It may be traced to lsl. ar annona, Su.G. ar, id. ; 
or to Su.G. lsl. aera, A.S. are, Alem. era, Germ, ehre, ho- 
nor. 

In Alem. er has the same power. Er, says Wachter, ad- 
verb, intendendi, sensum reddens fortiorem, ut «g< apud 
Graecos. Ad hanc classem spectant erhalten servare, erret- 
ten, erlosen liberare, erquicken reficere, ergeben dedere, er- 
greiffen ampere, ernaehren sustentare, erkennen cognoscere, 
et alia sine numero. Proleg. Sect. v. He supposes that it is 
subjoined to the positive, as forming the comparative for the 
same reason, — its intensive power. Ibid. Sect. vi. Erbar sig- 
nifies illustris, nobilis. This, according to the same writer, is 
compounded of er, a title of honour, and bar par, quasi illustri- 
bus equalis. Diecmann derives er, as thus used, from Alem. 
ero honor; Schilter. p. 270. Alem. ari also signifies honor; 
ibid. p. 63. Wachter observes that ar, or, and ur, denote 
beginning. Mr Jones deduces the Gr. particle from Heb. 
*7)tf, aur, light, and conuate with »»£, spring ; adding, that 
hence it signifies splendidly, — x%ih*o$, shiningly conspicuous, 
i. e. very conspicuous ; Greek Gramm. p. 291- 

Lennep derives el%i from the verb cl^a adapto, compingo, 



158 OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 

as conveying the idea of force. The Isl. can afford a simi- 
lar root for aerit. This is ar, aerr, strenuus, gnavus, acer in 
agendo, operosus ; from ar, aer, opera, opus rusticum, ara- 
tio; Gl. Edd. p. 417- Pers. arr denotes compulsion ; and 
Heb. N1N, ara, is given as an obsolete root, from which 
^Nltf, ei el, robur, validus, praevalidus, has been formed. 



A*. 



This is an inseparable particle, which has no meaning bv 
itself, but increases the signification of these words to which 
it is prefixed. Thus 2*Vx«>; is valde umbrosus, from o* and 
0xmb umbra ; $x$oi»o$) caedis admodum avidus, from oa and 
q>ovo$ caedes. 

Isl. dae is thus defined by Gudm. Andreae. Piimitivum 
vetus seu particula piisca, aliquid probum, scitum ac exi- 
niium, tanquam w, significans A*. He traces it to Heb. 
H dai, sufficientia, nS"T, daah, scientia, notitia. Isl. daewel 
is eximie, bene, optime ; daezcaenn, daefrydur, daelegtar, all 
signify eximie formosus ; doecht, optime, adprobate ; d 
madr and daendis, probus, honestus homo ; dm 
quam dulce. He seems to view the adjective doer, 
vehenienter gratus et placeus, as allied. 



Ah, bis ; Ai%<t, Lat. Dis. 

A.,, I know, is not accounted an inseparable particle, but 
dvs signifying aegre. There can be no doubt, however, iIimi 
the Lat. particle, which is originally the same, is tlni< u 
and although £/? had been less frequently prefixed to verbs 
or nouns, we have sufficient ground for admitting it into this 
class. &<«-•£«, dubito, is evidently formed from )« and 
or ?-*£*>, q. I stand betzixt faw; hence applied to lies: 



OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 159 

of mind. This verb has given birth to a number of deriva- 
tives. AtTetQyi? is bis sepultus; from hg and S-etirra sepelio. 
A/Voxos, quae bis peperit, from the particle conjoined with 
tikto pario. Ai%a is used, in a similar sense, in the compo- 
sition of many words, as being a derivative from $k. 

1. As Gr. 3/V, and Lat. dis, denote separation, Moes.G. 
dis, as an inseparable particle, has the same meaning. Dis- 
dailjandans zcastjos is ; ' Dividing his garments;' Mar. 1.5. 
24. It is evidently formed from dis and dail pars. — Galu- 
kun managcin Jiske Jilu, szce natja dishuaupnodedun ize ; 
' They inclosed a great multitude of fishes, so that their net 
was broken;' Luk. 5. 6. The idea evidently is, that their 
net snapped into tzco. Junius quotes an analogous Belg. 
phrase, in twee stucken knappen, cum subita quadam vio- 
lentia crepituque dirumpi ac dissilire. — Faurhah alhs dis- 
skritnoda in twa, jah stainos disskritnodedun ; 6 The vail of 
the temple was rent in twain, — and the rocks rent ;' Matt. 
27. 51. from dis and skreitan scindere ; whence the Scot. 
verb to screed. To these might be added distahjan, dis- 
pergere; distairwi dissuere, discindere ; diswilwan diri- 
pere, &c. &c. 

2. Lat. dis is used intensively, in the sense of xalde ; as, 
discriicio, discupio. This is also one of the significations of 
the Gr. particle £y ? . 

The Moes.G. symbolizes with the Lat. and Gr. in this 
respect. Jlgis disdraus ina ; Irruit super eum timor ; 
Luk. 1. 12. from dis intensive and drius-an, cadere ; q. 
1 rushed,' ox l came forcibly on him/ — Usjilmei dissat allans; 
Apprehendit omnes stupor ; Luk. 5. 26. The latter part of 
the word seems to be the preterite of sitan sedere. It sat on 
them so as to press them down. — Sildaleik dishabaida ina ; 
* He was astonished ;' Luk. 5.9- Gr ws^Ut^v j stupor en- 
vironed him ; from dis and haban tenere. 



160 OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 



Ng, vli, Lat. Ne, ni. 

( 
The inseparable particles n and tn are used in a privative 
sense. Ninas signifies, pedibus carens, from vl and tSs a 
foot. "EXiog signifies mercy ; but with m prefixed, ntolis, it 
assumes a contrary meaning, inhumanus, crudelis. N^t^s is 
non lucrosus, inutilis, from ri and xsg^o? gain. From «v«^o ? , 
the wind, is thus formed vu'v^e?, vento carens, serenus. Nu^i^- 
t>»?, verus, is from ni and ap.*%i**u pecco ; q. in quo dicendo 
non peccatur. 

In the same sense the Romans used both ne and m ; as in 
neque, neve, nimirum, nihil, nisi, &c. 

Perhaps it may be said, that the correspondent Goth, 
particles appear more in a primitive form than those of the 
Greeks, as they are used, not merely in composition, but se- 
parately. Moes.G. ni and nih both denote negation. Iota 
aim aiththau aim striks m asleithith af zcitoda ; ' One jot, 
or one title shall in no wise pass from the law ;' Matt. 5. 18. 
Ne is the particle in the A.S. version : An. i. oththe an 
prica ne gezcit fram thaere ae. In the verse immediately 
preceding, according to Ulphilas, "Si quam gatairan ak ns- 
fulljan ; * I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil,-' in A.S. 
Ne com ic na toicurpan ac gefyllan. _V/ has the same sig- 
nification with ne in the same passage. For it is to be ob- 
served, that with the Anglo-Saxons, as with the Greeks, 
a negation is frequently expressed by two negatives. In 
Moes.G. mu is sometimes used for ni, euphoniac causa ; 
but more generally in the way of interrogation, as equivalent 
to Lat. nonne ? Ntti saiuala niais ist fodeinai \ * Is not the 
life more than meat?' Matt. 6. 25. A.S. Hu ?n/s seo smri 
selre thonne mete. Ne occasionally occurs as signifying non 
— Antharai quethun, Ne, ak airzcith tho managein; l Others 



OF INSEPARABLE PARTICLES. 1()\ 

said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people;' Job. 7. 12. A.S. 
Othre czcaedon. Ne se ; ac he beszcicth thysfolc. 

Moes.G. nih, with the aspirate affixed, signifies neither, 
also nor. Nih arbaidjand, nih spinnand ; ■ They neither 
toil, nor spin ;' Matt. 6. 28. A.S. Ne swincath hig, ne hig 
ne spinnath; Gr. Oy*o^£, wVz vfai. Ni and nih are thus 
distinguished ; Ni auk ist analaugn thatei swikunth ni wair- 
thai, nih fulgin thatei ni gakunnaidan ; ' For nothing is 
secret that shall not be made manifest : neither any thing hid, 
that shall not be known;' Luk. 8. 17. V. Ulph. 111. p. 60. 

Ni is also the negative in Alem. Daz ni mac, ut non pos- 
sit ; Kero. It is the same in Franc. Ni tualos, ne pigriteris ; 
ni dar nisi sit, non defluit; GI. Mods. Ne-ne is used by 
Notker, for non-nisi; Psa. 58. 10. Isl. Su.G. and Dan. 
nei, non ; in old Su.G. ne. Komber eig ne zeidfier, nisi ne- 
gatio intervenerit ; Leg. West-Gothl. ap. Ihre. This learned 
writer remarks the affinity of the Goth, particle, not only 
to Gr. vs, vh, but to Pers. nen, and Pol. nie, id. 

Moes.G. ni enters into the composition of various words ; as 
niainshun nemo, from ni and ains non unus. The termina- 
tion hun is no where explained. It is probably from the same 
origin with Su.G. hion, "individuum humanum, persona. 
Thus niainshun would be equivalent to non unus homo. 
Niaiw nunquam, from ni and aizc semper ; nimanna, nemo, 
from the negative and manna homo ; niquhanhun, nunquam, 
from ni and quhanhun unquam ; niquhashun, nemo, from 
ni non, quhas quis, and the termination hun noticed above ; ni- 
zcaiht nihil, from ni, and zcaiht res quaevis, Eng. xohit. Hence 
tiaught, nought. It is also conjoined with the substantive 
verb ; nist, for ni ist, non est. Nist occurs in the same 
sense in Alem. ; nis, nys, id. A.S. From A.S. ne is formed 
neaht non r nell-an nolle, q. ne-zoillan, Eng. nill\ neom, non 
sum, for ne eom ; neowerno, nusquam ; nerra, or naerra, 
for ne aerra, non prior, i. e. posterior ; nic, for ne ic, now 
ego, &c. 

L 



162 OF TERMINATIONS. 

From Alem. ni are formed niaman, nemo ; niauuiht, nil 
quicquam; &c. from Isl. nei, nein, nullus ; neina, and neita, 
negare ; nema, nisi ; neikvaedin, negativus, compounded of 
the particle and kvaeda dicere ; Su.G. nek-a negare. 



CHAPTER V. 



OF TERMINATIONS. 



Of Eiv i Ev, B-iv ; 'He, T-^y Lat. Er, ter ; Ixe? -, lite, Lat. 
lulls, AtKoc., Lat. Lis; Aoj, a< ? , a<«v, Lat. Lus. 

Eiy, the termination of the Infinitive. 

I need scarcely say, that this is by far the most common 
termination of the present infinitive with the Greeks. Wach- 
ter has accordingly remarked the affinity between this and 
an, on, en, used for the same purpose by the Gothic na- 
tions. The Moeso- Goths and Anglo-Saxons had an and 
tan, as in aist-an revereri, airz-ian seducere; A.S. feald-an 
plicare, mislic-ian displicere. The Alemanni and Germans 
preferred en and on; as in dict-en, also diht-on, dictare, scri- 
bere, dien-en, deon-on, servare. An very nearly resembles 
the abbreviated termination of verbs in *a, as rip** honoro, 
Tip-ccuv, contr. np-uv. The Icelanders and Suio-Goths prefer 
a. Vs T e cannot view this as analogous to the termination, in the 
infinitive, of verbs in pi, which is not xi, but *xt, unless it be 
supposed that » is inserted euphoniae causa. It has, how- 
ever, been said that the ancient infinitive of nhfu was S-ias»*», 



OF TERMINATIONS. 163 

instead of S-g^aj. Moore Gram m. p. 157. According to this 
idea, we might suppose the infinitive formed by adding xi to 
the first person plural of the indicative j as rttifwcuj by con- 
traction rifa'veti, from Ti'Otpiv. 



s Ev, B-tv, 

3 Ev or S-iVj affixed, denotes motion from a place. It seems 
uncertain, whether we ought to view the former, or the latter, 
as properly constituting the termination. i need not say, 
that the Greeks generally avoid the hiatus, and interpose a 
consonant between two vowels. Now, the words, to which 
this particle is affixed, all terminating, as far as I have ob- 
served, with a vowel or diphthong, room is left to conclude 
that h is the radical termination. 

By means of this particle, from km signifying above, or 
upwards, is formed avufcv, from above. In like manner yJ.?<», 
downwards, appears as xdrukv, from below ; l»s*, there, as 
ix.i76i»i thence, from that part ; ovgctvhq, heaven, in the genitive 
or dative, as ov^xvo6tv } from heaven. 

Ihre seems to have no doubt that this is radically the same 
with Su.G an* He*thus defines it; An, suffixum, motum 
de loco significans, perinde ac Gr. h vel 3-sv in \x.{ihv 9 s^w- 
6iv. 

Many examples of the use of this termination occur. 
Su.G. ofzcan signifies deorsum, from oefwer super; Isl. 
ofan, id. from of a supra. Fara lifande of an i helwite ; ' to 
go down quick into the pit/ or ' hell ;' Numb. 16. SO. 
Their geingu ofan affallenu ; l They descended from the 
mountain ;' Mar. 9. 9. 

This is also an A.S. term, though it seems to have been 
overlooked by the learned Hickes. Ufa and iifan both corre- 
spond to supra ; hence nfenan, which properly signifies desit- 
per, superne ? from above. Se the nfenan com, se is ofer ealle $ 

T C* 



i64 OF TERMINATION. 

' He that cometh from above, is above all;' Joh. S. 
Alem. if ana desuper, from if supra; Palthenii Not. ad 
Tatian, p. 393. V. Schilter. 

Su.G. nedan signifies motion from a lower ^place ; from 
ned infra. As A.S. neothan is deorsum, I suspect that the 
word originally used in the sense of dozen or under, was 
neoth or neothe. Alem. nidar infra, nidan subter. To 
the same class belong A.S. innan, Germ, innen intus, de- 
noting motion inward, from the preposition in ; titan extra, 
denoting motion to without, from ut. Germ, aussen also 
signifies extra, from aus ex. 

Thus also from A.S. north, Su.G. nord, septentrio, arc 
formed, northan and nordan, a septentrione ,* from A.S. 
suth, Su.G. soeder, Isl. sudtir, auster, also sunna, denomi- 
nated from the sun ; — autlian, sonnan, and mnnan, ex mc- 
ridionali plaga. 

Su.G. haedan, Isl. hiedan, signify hence. The letter d 
is interposed before the termination. For these words are 
formed from Su.G. liner, Isl. liier, hie, here. In the same 
manner Su.G. / haedan, illinc, thence, is from ther ibi, 
there ; Isl. thadan illinc, from t/iar ibi. 

It may be observed, that in Alem. Isl. and Su.G., ;■, at 
the end of a word, very frequently appears as a servile let- 
ter. It is therefore thrown oft* in declension and in com- 
position. The same observation applies iu general to the 
terminations er and ur, which rarely form any part of the 
root. It is remarked by Mr Jones, that the Gr. termina- 
tion is from the definitive fc, as originally signifying the ob- 
ject that was pointed at ; " hence easily applied to express 
those places, towards which motion or attention is directed. " 
Now, if this hypothesis be well-founded, it must be admit- 
ted that it cuts oft' the apparent affinity between the Gr. 
particle and Goth, an : and that no immediate connexion 
can be supposed, except where dan is the termination. 
There is reason to think, however, that b is the original 



VP TERMINATIONS. 165 

panicle in (Jr., and that the $ has been merely interposed 
between two vowels euphoniae causa. 



H£, or rug i Lat. Er, ter. 

Ue, or t/i% is the termination of many nouns in Gr ; as %x~ 
rbfy pfonfy 3-py*T«g, «v«g, Lat. pater, mater, filia, vir ; also 
maghter, minister, Sec. These two are certainly from ma- 
gis and minus, with the addition of the termination ter, or 
perhaps originally er, with t prefixed, as producing a more 
agreeable sound. 

In the Goth, tongues, er, ter, andster, are used in the for- 
mation of one substantive from another, of substantives 
from verbs, and of adjectives from substantives. From 
A.S. godspel evangelium, godspeller evangel ista, is formed; 
from sued semen, saedere seminator, a sower ; froiii fullviht 
baptisma, fuUuhiere, Baptista. Hence the designation, 
lohannes se fullulitere, John the Baptist. The origin is 
full-ian baptizare, fullare, ' to full a piece of cloth ;' 
Somner. 

In Germ, matter signifies a measure of corn, from mal- 
en metiri ; zcaechter a watchman, from icach-en vigilare ; 
gelaechter cachinnus, from lach-en ridere ; Belg. vryster virgo 
nubilis, from frey-en nubere ; Isl. alster foetura, from al-eti 
educare. 

Er in A.S. most nearly resembles the Gr. termination, 
if we may judge of it from *v-«g. The learned Mareschal 
has observed, that perhaps this final particle is formed, in 
A.S. words, per aphaeresin euphonicam, from the word wer, 
a man \ Observat. in Vers. A.S. p. 548. Lat. vir has in- 
deed been derived by Vossius and others from vis, vir-is, 
as denoting strength. But the root of vir ought to be a 
term, not confined to Lat., but common to a variety of 
other languages in the same sense. And undoubtedly, a 



166 OF TERMINATIONS. 

term, radically the same with this, appears in most of the 
Goth, dialects ; and these can scarcely be supposed to have 
borrowed it from the Romans. As A.S. zcer is evidently the 
same, so is Moes.G. wtrir, Isl. ver, Su.G. fcaer, Franc. 
uuara, Irish fair, fear, all signifying a man. Baxter, in the 
Preface to his Glossary, says, that u.\^ has the same meaning 
in the Armenian. It has been inferred from Herodotus, 
that the ancient Scythians used the word «<*£ in this sense. 
For he says, v A*e§ y<*§ xxMaa-i rh ccvt^u ; Lib. 4. We may 
therefore conclude that the derivation of vir from vis is a 
mere fancy. 

Wachter and Ihre both approve of the conjecture of Ma- 
reschal. It seems indeed to have great probability. For, 
as he supposes lhatjullu/iler is contracted from full uht-zcer, 
it corresponds to the designation of a farmer,— ~aecer-mait, 
also aeccr-ceorl. We use p/oi:-maii and pluzccr as synony- 
mous. In Isl. laga-madr is what we call a lawyer, juri^pe- 
ritus. Icelandic writers design the Romans Ro/nveriar, that 
is, men of Rome. In A.S. llomvare signifies, vir Roma- 
nus ; heofouxarc, coeli incola. Verelius observes, that those 
Mere in Lat. denominated Ripuarii, who were otherwise 
called Ripvcriar from ripp, a tract or district ; Ind. 

It seems to put the matter beyond doubt, that, as in most 
of the Goth, dialects, the terminations are and er occur in 
the names of artiiicers and men of every condition, these, 
in some instances, retain the original form of the radical 
word zcair or ver. Thus, according to Ihre, vo. Waer 9 
for borgare civis, borgiarc was formerly used, i. c. vir ci- 
vitatis; for skippare, magister navis, skiptcriar, in plural, 
nnutae, as in Heims Kringla, I. 341. 

We may suppose, perhaps, that the same term has en- 
tered into the composition of enig, and that this is in fact of 
Scythic origin. Lennep derives it from «»*•, qui superior 
vel supra est, unde, respectu uxoris sic eximie dictus 
ritus videtur. But this etymon at any rate leaves the ter- 



OF TERMINATIONS. 1 67 

mination totally unaccounted for. It is singular that «y«g 
should so nearly agree in form with the synonymous term in 
A.S., when it has the article before it. This is an zcer. Tha 
clypode an wer ofthaere menegu, and cwaeth ; ' A man of 
the company cried out, saying ;' Luk. 9- 38. It may be 
supposed that the ancient Scythians had their article as well 
as their descendants ; and it is remarkable that, instead of 
ef?, the Greeks, as we learn from Hesychius, sometimes 
used h in the sense of muis, Ihre makes use of this re- 
mark, when illustrating Su.G. en, anciently an, unus. Thus 
we may view iv-xto%, or an wer, as the old Scythian designa- 
tion from which uvh% was formed. It is little more than a 
century since our forefathers expressed themselves as defi- 
nitively, using the phrase ane man, properly signifying ' one 
man/ for a man. 

If this etymon be well-founded, there is reason to sup- 
pose that 7txtk£ has had a similar formation. Lennep de- 
duces it from 9rx» alio, nutrio, q. a nourisher. As the 
verb also signifies to possess, Scheide seems to prefer this 
idea. But it is undoubtedly the same word that appears, 
although with some slight variation, in all the Goth, lan- 
guages. We have seen that p and f are very commonly in- 
terchanged. In the oldest dialects of the Goth., very few 
original words begin with p, as they prefer f. In A.S. it 
is faeder, in Su.G. and Isl. fader, in A\em.fater, in Germ. 
vater, in Belg. vader ; and in Moes.G. fadrein signifies 
parentes. lu Pers. pader is the term for father. 

It is certainly far more probable, therefore, that the 
Greeks brought this word into their country with them, and 
had it in common with the Scythians. If we seek a Goth, 
origin, the verb foed-a seems to have a strong claim ; as it 
signifies both gignere and alere. In ls\. faed-a is explained, 
not only by pario, genero, but by nascor ; G. Andr. p. 63. 
Although this author does not derive fader from faed-a, he 
says, that fadr with the ancients was written fodr. He re- 

l 4 



i6S OF TERMINATIONS. 

marks, indeed, the affinity between faed-a, pario, aud Heb, 
JT)B, puth, vulva. Now, if this source of derivation be 
preferred, it may be supposed that the word originally had 
the form of faed-wcr, q. vir gignens, genitory 

As jc*rn»g and B-vyar^ have the same termination, it may 
seem an objection to this etymon, that the term wer could 
not be applied to females. But besides the certainty of the 
fact, that masculine and feminine nouns in Gr., -with this 
termination, are declined in the same manner, which in- 
duces a suspicion that originally there was some special rea- 
son for this circumstance ; it is singular that, in this instance, 
the termination continues the same in the Goth, tongues in 
both genders, as Su.G. moder, doter. Shall we suppose 
that wer was at first a generic term, like adcun in Heb., in- 
cluding both sexes ? We learn from Festus, that the ancient 
Latins called a woman viva. Some indeed give this as the 
genuine reading in the Amphitryon of Plautus, A. 2. Sc <2. 
v. 18 J. V. Nolten. Lex. Although the Latins gave the 
word a female termination, the use of it at all, as applied 
to woman, affords a strong presumption that in an early 
age it was used indiscriminately. In the same manuer fa- 
diei/is in Moes.G., as we have seen, denoted both parents. 
This was also the meaning o( benthos, formed from bair-an, 
which signified both gignere, and foetum eniti. 

Mu't>]£ seems, like tot^, a term of general use among the 
Scythian nations ; A.S. meder, moaor, Su.G. Isl. moder, 
Alem. muater, Belg. moeder, Ike. The Pers. term is ma- 
dcr. Some have viewed Goth, moeda, labor, molestia, as 
the origin. V. Rudbeck. Atlant. ii. 458. 

It can scarcely be doubted, that, notwithstanding the 
slight change of the first letter, B-uyei-n^ is originally the 
same with Moes.G. dauluar, A.S. do/itor, dohter, Is!, dot- 
ter, Su.G. doter, Alem. dohter, tohter, Belg. dochter, Germ. 
tochter. The Pers. agrees, — dochter. D, with the Goths, 
was often used for Th ; and Th, especially in die middle 



OF TERMINATIONS. l()9 

of wordy, changed into D. V. Gudm. Atidreac Lex. let. 
D, and Th. p. 43. f 26l. Serenius derives the term from 
Germ, tocht generatio ; Stiernhelm, from Sax. tug- en gig- 
ncre, tocht soboles. But as Ihre modestly observes, al- 
though fully satisfied that the term is of Scythian extract, 
we need not blush to acknowledge our ignorance of the root; 
as this, with its correlative terms, must have been formed 
in a very remote period. 



I%0$. 



It has been observed by Wachter, that there is a great 
lesemblance between this Gr. termination and ig t that of 
the Germans. This he derives from eig-en habere, tenere, 
possidere ; as denoting that one holds, is completely en- 
dowed with, or affected by, the thing to which it is adjoin- 
ed. It may be observed, however, that the Gr. termina- 
tion has been deduced from usfe similis, par, from «<««, simi- 
lis sum. Jones, Gr. Gramm. p. 113. "Ev-a> or ?*#, venio, ac- 
cedo, has been assigned as the root of w*os ; Lennep Ety- 
mol. p. 256. Could we view it as formed from '£%# habeo, 
in the imperfect £<#ov ; we could perceive a perfect analogy 
between the Gr. and Goth, terminations. Kilian gives Teut. 
edit as not only signifying Justus, legitimus, but similis : 
which might indicate affinity to efc-o*. 

By the use of the Gr. termination, from tfyvn, ars, is 
formed n%vtxos, arte praeditus ; from yme genus, yetoees ge- 
neralis ; from Uvos gens, natio, efatxls, genti alicui peculiaris 
et proprius, gentilis. 

U is evidently the radical termination, o? being added 
merely according to the mode adopted by the Greeks. It 
is well known that they often changed k into y. This ap- 
pears, not merely from the conjugation of their verbs, but 
from the formation of their derivatives. I need scarcely 



170 OF TERMINATIONS. 

mention iihf/fixi, the perfect passive of SiUrvui, ostendo ; 
or h7yft» 9 exemplum, formed from the same verb. 

Wachter refers to Germ, durst ig, sitiens, sitim habens, 
formed by adding the termination ig to durst, thirst ; 
durftig, egenus, opus habens, which is from durft opus, 
also indigentia ; maessig, moderatus, modum habens, from 
mass mensura ; selig beatus, bonum possidens, from sel bo- 
num, bonitas ; g'dtig benignus, bonitate praeditus, from gut 
bonum ; grimmig atrox, iracundia affectus, from grimni ri- 
gor, asperitas; zcenig, paucus, defectu laborans, from zcati 
defectus. 

In Alem. this termination appears, not merely as eg and 
ig, but in the various forms of eeh, ak, eh, ik, icho, &c, 
which more nearly resemble Gr. <*o;. From al omnis, is 
ailich, allicha, universalis, caiholicus ; from bruli, Germ. 
hraut, turbo, prute/icho, turbide, terribiliter, q. poss^ 
the force of a whirlwind; from eica, aeternitas, ewic, emtio, 
aeternus ; from fiuht fuga, fiulitig vanus, Eng. flighty ; from 
od facilitates, odig, odag, divitiis praediti, facuitatibus in- 
structi. 

The Moes.G - has ags, ahs, igs, and eig*. Judags, bea- 
tus; most probably from Goth, aud-r retained in Is!., signi- 
fying opes, as it is generally supposed that happiness de- 
pends on the possession of riches. The adjective in I si. 
is audug-ur, locuples, dives. Moes.G. intbaruahs is de- 
fined, qui non hubet liberos, from barn a child ; mnd> _ 
iratus, from mod ira, q. having anger ; Wmkkag* s}>lendidus, 
from zcu/thus gloria. Gubigs signifies dives ; mahteigs po- 
tens, from maht poteutia ; gawairtheig* paciticus from 
gawairiki pax ; thiutheigs bonus, from thiuth bonum. 

i<>- and iht are the correspondent terminations in I 
From sci/ld delictum, scelus, is formed scyld e 
from si/n peccatum, s ymmg impius, culpabilis ; from 
lapis, slauig, also slaniht, lapideus, saxosus. 






OF TERMINATIONS. ]?1 



!»«?, Lat. Inns, enus, anus. 



The learned Hickes has long ago observed, that, in A.S., 
denominatives, referring to material objects, have their ter- 
mination in en ; remarking the coincidence between these and 
terms of a similar signification in Gr. and Lat. From xgvs- 
ti\\o$, crystallus, is formed x^wrclxxivos, Lat. crystalh'raus; 
from Kg&gas cedrus, x^vos, Lat. cedrinus; from xi'6og lapis, 
xi6ivo^ lapideus ; from |uAov lignum, %vXiv6$ ligneus, &c. 

Thus in A.S., from aesc fraxinus is aescen fraxineus, Eng. 
ashen; from beorce tilia, beorcen tiliaceus, birchen; from 
staen lapis, staenen lapideus ; fr<5m treozv arbor, treowen lig- 
neus, Scot, treiri, trene, pronounced q. tree-en ; as a tree-en 
leg, a wooden leg. 

Germ, eiseren ferreus, from Teut. yser ferrum ; eren ae- 
neus, from obsolete aer metalium ,• gulden aureus, from gold, 
aurum; fellen pelliceus, from fell pellis. V. Hickes, Gramm. 
A.S. p. 20. 4°. Wachter Prol. Sect. vi. vo. En. 

The Lat. terminations enus, and anus, as in alienus-, huma- 
nus, may perhaps be classed with those mentioned above, as 
having a common origin. 



AtKos', Lat. Lis* 

'hxUos signifies quantus, hozo much, how great, of zvhich 
size ; distinguished from 7^x1x0^, which is used interrogatively 
of zchat size? and from tW*«$, tantus, the correlative of both. 

Lennep derives v>Xtx.ix, statura, from j5a/xos quantus. The 
immediate origin of the latter, he says, is ^a*|, qui ejusdem 
aetatis est; and this he deduces from the verb a.xi<a or kxUo-a. 
But as uxta signifies volvo, voluto, and kxUtra capio, the de- 
duction from either seems very much strained. The only 



17£ OF TEE Ml NATIONS. 

shadow of reason for it is, that »A/| is used in the Doric, ?. - 
cording to Hederieus, (in the Ionic, as Lennep says,) for ixi%. 

As he admits that k>.Uix, statura, is from nxixsg, it is cer- 
tainly more natural to view iXt% as having the' same origin : 
especially as both these terms convey specific ideas, evidently 
branching out from the more general one suggested by *>.<««; ; 
<j. hozc great — in stature, hozc much — iu age. It is also a pow- 
erful objection to this etymon, that x;iA<>cc? and ti>xik*s are 
congeuial terms. Hence it is obvious, that A<«e ? , or Xm, is in 
fact the only radical and permanent part of all these wordf ; 
the first syllable being varied according to the form of the 
part of speech prefixed, and the meaning to be given to the 
compound. 'h-a/x«?, both from its form and signification, 
has evidently taken, as its firtt syllable, the dative feminine of 
the pronoun « 5 , *, qui, quae ; t»-Ai*o ? , apparently the dative 
feminine of the article ; and im-A/«**, the same case of the 
ancient pronoun xo*, x}, x«k, equivalent to quis, quae, used 
interrogatively. 

What then, may it be inquired is this a<x«? ? I have no he- 
sitation in answering, that it is radically the very same term 
with our likt. This termination, according to the old com- 
plimentary system of etymology. Wachter derives, per metath- 
esin, from Gr. s/xs**?, similis. This etymon is also suggested 
by Junius, Goth. Gl. vo. Leiks. Ihre,on the other hand, is per- 
fectly satisfied that the Greeks derived their termination a*x#?, 
and the Latins their lis, from the Goths. The proofs, indeed, 
are so striking, that one can scarcely wonder at his expressing 
himself in such language as the following. Studio haec at- 
tuli, ut indubia testimonia cognationis linguarum Helladis 
et Latii cum Scythismo, quam illi soli ignorant, qui easdem 
inter se non contenderunt, illi soli negant, quibus in meridi- 
ana luce caecutire lubet. Vo. Lik. 

Moes.G. leiks, A.S. lie, ge-Iic, Alem. lih, Isl. //'A-;-, Su.G. 
lik, Belg. iyk, all signify similis, Eug. /ike ; and they are all, 
as also Germ, lick, used in composition in this sense. 

I 



OF TERMINATIONS. 

veral learned writers have remarked the similarity between 
the Goth, terms and Gr. «A/yx-<o 5 id. But the resemblance 
is still stronger between this and Su.G. alik similis, Eng. 
alike. This is probably Moes.G.jakiks id. slightly altered. 
Ihre observes, however, that Goth, lik is more certainly recog- 
nised in the composite terms s-«x/*-«$ and t»a/x-o? which he 
explains quails, and talk. The similarity between the latter 
and A.S. ihylic, Su.G. tliylik, tholik, thalik, toUk, in the 
province of Scania telig, Dan. id,, Isl. talik, all signifying 
similis, is very remarkable. As we have supposed that «jA«o$ 
may have been formed from the dative of the article; Su.G. 
thy is the dative of then ille, iste, whence thylik, illi similis ; 
Ihre. Thui is also the dative of the article in Isl., whence 
ihuilik-r, id. In A.S. thy is used for the article and pronoun 
in all the oblique cases ; hence thylic, the like, talis, similis, 
hujusmodi, old Eng. thilke. 

The Latins have formed their talis, either from Gr. «jx/»-«?j 
or from Goth, thalik, tholik, also tolik, by softening k into s. 
For there is no difference in signification. In the same mau- 
ner qualis may have been formed from foix-*s ; although it can- 
not be denied that it more nearly resembles Moes.G. quite- 
leiks, quhileiks, or as Ihre writes it, hueleiks, qualis, cujus- 
modi, compounded of the pronoun analogous to Lat. qui, 
quae, and leiks similis; Alem. uuiolih, huuielich, A.S. hwilc, 
Su.G. hzcilken, Dan. huUk, Belg. zvelk, Scot, quhilk. J ah 
thahta sis qheleika zcesi so goleins : Et cogitabat qualis esset 
haec salutatio; Luk. 1. 29- Vers. Sotberg. Ulph. lllustr. 

Ihre observes that Su.G. tholik has by the Germans beer* 
changed into solicit ; vo. Lik. But under thylik he throws 
out an idea not quite reconcileabie with this ; for he says 
that Su.G. salik, talis, contracted to slik, is compounded of 
sa, the pronoun signifying is, he, and lik similis. This ex- 
cellent etymologist seems to have been mistaken as to both. 
For, in all probability, Germ, solicit is originally the same 
with Moes.G. sitaleiks talis, which is composed of ma sic T 



174 OF TERMINATIONS. 

and leiks similis. This appears in A.S. in the contracted 
form of szcaelc, szcelc, szcilc, szcylc, talis, qualis. Szca gelic 
szca, tarn similis quam ; Bed. 51 6. 15. Salike is still used 
in the north of Scotland as synonymous with diclike. 

There is every reason to believe, that, in the same man- 
ner, Lat. similis was formed from Moes.G. suma leiks, used 
by Ulphilas in rendering tns and t/uuHi from sam ipse, and 
leiks similis. The strict conformity, indeed, between Lat. 
//sand Goth, lik or leiks, may be observed in almost all the 
words in which these terminations enter into composition. 
Thus, as Ihre has remarked, lis in pueri//\, rega//.s, viri//s, 
corresponds to lik in Su.G. barns//^, childish, Scot, bairn//?, 
kong//g, kingly, like a king, mau//g, manly. 

The same, I apprehend, is the origin of the termination of 
such verbal adjectives as express a tendency towards that 
which is denoted by the verb ; as amabi//.s, one who is likely 
to be loved. Jmabilis is explained by Isidore, quod sit 
amore dignus ; Etymol. lib. 10. But it will be found, that 
this conveys nearly the same idea with that which we attach 
to likeness. When we say, in regard to the outward ap- 
pearance, that a woman is /ore///, we mean that she is worthy 
to be loved, in as far as external charms form a recommen- 
dation. Now, if the language be resolved, if the sentiment 
itself be scrutinized, it will be found equivalent to asserting 
that she is like love, i. e. that she has all the appearnnce of 
one who will be loved. Grammarians seem to have gi 
ally considered bilis as the termination ; and some have 
viewed it as a contraction from habilis, as denoting the pos- 
session of a quality. But the verbal adjectives, of which it 
forms a pait, do not so properly suggest the idea of the 
actual possession of a quality, as of a just claim to it. The 
proper termination, 1 imagine, is lis, or, in its original 
form, leiks, added to the passive verb, with ab the mark of 
the future, or abi the mark of the third person. Thus from 
amabi-tm\ he or she will be loved, by throwing away that 



OF TERMINATIONS. 175 

part of the termination which distinguishes the person, is 
most probably formed amabi-lis, q. amabi-leiks. This is 
the very signification of the term lovely in our own language. 
It is from A.S. lujlic, i. e. like love. 



Aos, Xts, \Uv - 3 Lat. lus. 

The letter L, as has been observed by Wachter, is a very 
ancient mark of distinction. It is undoubtedly so in the 
Goth, dialects. Many examples occur in Germ, in which 
the mere letter distinguishes the diminutive ; as maennl ho- 
muncio, from man homo, steinl lapillus, from stein lapis. 
In Gr. and Lat. this letter takes the form of a regular ter- 
mination, Ao-j, xtg, Xiov, lus ; although, in judging of the origin^ 
we must throw aside the peculiar dress it has received, ac- 
cording to the established costume of each of these nations. 

From vccvtk, Lat. nauta, are formed, vxvti-*o$, Lat. nauti- 
lus ; from (pva-u a bladder, q>v<rxxk, a small bladder ; from 
fi^og, infans, ^(pvxxtov -infant a~ lus. From puer is formed 
pueru-lus a little boy, f Yom Jilius, Jilio-l 'us, &c. 

The Moes.G. approaches most nearly to the Gr. in its mode 
of diminution ; from barn, infans, puer, is barni-lo puerulus ; 
from maui puella, maui-lo, a little girl, from magus puer, 
magu-la puerulus. The very name of Ulphilas, Goth. Wulfila, 
is supposed to be a diminutive from ivulfs lupus. V. Hickes, 
Gramni. A.S. 4°. p. 18. In Alem. stiag-il, semita, is viewed 
as a diminutive from stiga via ; Schilter. It seems proba- 
ble that this termination was used in the same sense in A.S. 
Hence perhaps hzcitel cultellus, a small knife; handle ma- 
nubrium, q. a small hand. Ing or ling is, however, the 
common diminutive in this language. 



J/6 OF SOME T.AT1N PREPOSITIONS 



CHAPTER VI. 



IN ORIGIN, rORM, OR SIGNIFICATION, FROM THOSE 
USED IN GREEK. 



LATIN PREPOSITIONS. 

Ad, to, at, near to, by, with, &c. 

Scheide derives ad from Gr. *}», premo; as properly sug- 
gesting the idea of pressure, or adding one thing to another ; 
Etyin. p. 1 l()7. It is a singular coincidence, although J 
am convinced merely accidental, that A.S. ad, aad, signifies 
congeries, a heap. Vossius gives it a more ancient origin ; 
for he traces it to Heb. IP, ad, which corresponds in mean- 
ing with Lat. ad, and usque ad. He views the preposition 
ad, and the conjunction at, as originally the same. 

There seems to be no reason to doubt that Moes.G. at 
has had a common origin with the Lat. preposition. 

1. Ad denotes approach or progress, expressed by Eng. 
to ; as, ad urbem, to the city. At is exactly synonymous. 
Du tlici n't fhik siiban icairthana rahnida at thus quintan ; 
'Wherefore neither myself worthy thought \_rcc koueif] I to 
come unto thee;' Luk. 7. 7- To is the preposition in A.S., 
and 7r?)q in Gr. Brahtedvn thanafulan at laisua : 4 They 
brought the colt to Jesus ;' Mar. 11.7- 



AND CONJUNCTIONS. 177 

Aet occurs in the same sense in A.S. Ic zvaes antrum and 
on czcearterne, and ge ne comun aet me; 'I was sick, and in 
prison, and ye visited me not/ literally, 'came not to me;' 
Matt. 25. 43. Aethanda, ad manum ; Bed. 2. 9- 

Su.G. at is commonly used in the same manner. Gifwa 
at en, dare alicui ; saega at en, dicere alicui. It also de- 
notes motion to a place. Fara at staden, to go to a place. 
Isl. ad has both the precise form and signification of the 
Lat. term. At koma ad marine, venire adhominem. Thad 
horfer ad marine, quod versus virum spectat. Ad eilyfu, 
usque in aeternum ; Gudm. Andr. p. 4. At, however, is 
more common ; as, at fostri, ad educandum ; Verel. We 
learn from Serenius, that the Dalecarlians in Sweden, whose 
dialect is very ancient, use ad in this sense. V. Diet., Ad- 
dend. 

In the same. sense it is used in composition, like the Lat 
preposition ; as in Moes.G. at-giban. Atgiban ist izzms ; 
* To you it is given;' Mar. 4. 11. At-rinnan is formed 
like accurrere, adcurrere. Atarunjan zcaurthanai, inunda- 
tione facta ; Luk. 6. 48. At-standan, adstare ; at-tekan ; 
attingere ; at-zvalu-jan, advolv-ere. &c. &c. 

A.S. aet-beon, adesse ; aet ys, adest, Mar. 4. 29-; aet- 
clijian, adhaerere ; aet-ecan, adjicere. Alem. azpim, adsum ; 
azstantu, adsto. Ih bin Gabrihel, thie aztantu for a Gote ; 
' I am Gabriel, who stand before God ;' Tatian. ii. 9. It 
should be observed, that in Alem. ad or at is softened into 
az, q. ads. Su.G. at-baerd and athaefzea both signify gestus. 
Isl. at-nithr, affinis, cognatus, (resembling Moes.G. at-ne- 
quhida, appropinquavit ;) at-rith invasio, at-runnr adcurrens. 

2. Ad corresponds to at in Eng. Ad portam expectare, 
to wait at the gate. Moes.G. at is synonymous. Gasaquh 
mannan sitandan at motai, Maththaiu haitanana ; ' He 
saw a man sitting at the receipt of custom, named Mat- 
thew; Matt. 9. 9« Sittende aet toll-sceannde, A.S. far* 

M 



178 OF SOME LATIN PREPOSITIONS 

76 TiXwiov. — t They — found the man out of whom the devils 
were departed, gescrydne and halum ??iode, aet hys fotum, 
clothed, and in his right mind, at his feet;' Luk. 8.35. A.S. 
vers. In Gr. the preposition is *»%*. f 

Isl. at signifies ad locum; as, at Geirrathar, ad vel apud 
Geinodi, subaud. domum, aedes. Gl. Edda. Alem. an is 
used simply in this sense. Az zesuum ha/p ruin, apud vel ad 
dextrum latus meum ; Isidor. contra Judaeos, c. 3, 6. 

3. Ad signifies with, Ad me bene mane Dionvsius fuit • 
Dionysius was pretty early with me; Cic. Moes.G. at id. 
Ik thatei gasaquh at Attiu meinamma rodja ; ' I speak that 
which 1 have seen with my Fathei ;' Joh. 8. 38. Mid is the 
preposition in A.S., •**%* in Gr. Maijandans jah drinkan- 
dans tho at im : ' Eating and drinking such things as they 
give,' literally, 'as are with them;' Luk. 10. 7- Quhazuh 
nu sa gahansjavda at Attin jah ganam, gangith da mis ; 
' Every man therefore that hath heard, and learned o/,' or 
i with the Father, cometh unto me; Joh. 6.45. In A.S. 
Gehyrde aet Faeder and ieomode. Gr. *•*$* t« 9t«t$os. 

Su.G. at admits of the same meaning. Bundin han at- 
ligget'> pater familias apud quern decubat ; Upl. LL. ap. 
lhre. Isl. ad andctf are used in the same way. At loegmanns, 
apud magistratum ; at Syslumans, apud legistam ; at sae, 
apud se domi suae. 

4. The Lat. particle signifies near to. Habes hortos ad 
Tiberim ; 'You have gardens nigh, or adjoining to the 
Tiber ; Liv. — Gasaquh twa skipa standandona at thamma 
saizca. ' He — saw two ships standing by the lake ;' Luk. 
5. 2. Gr. tfxpa. A.S. art has a similar acceptation. Aet vel 
neh straet, secus viam ; Caedin. Matt. 13. 4. 

Isl. at is rendered juxta, prope, Gl. Edda, in reference t# 
the following passage : 

5 



AND CONJUNCTIONS. 179 

Er han doma ferr 

At Asci Ygg-Drasills. 

Cum jus dictum it apud Aesculum Ygg-Drasilli. Grimnis- 
Mal, st. 29. 

5. Ad is used in relation to time. Ad quae tempora, at 
or about znhat time. Moes.G. at id. At ist asa?is ; * the 
harvest is come ; Mar. 4. 29. A.S. rip aet ys ; tt^s^xsv 
B-igis-ptos. 

Su.G. at natten, versus noctem ; at iciniern, versus hie- 
mem ; at are, anno proximo ; at hwarje manadha mot he, in 
singulos menses. Isl. at augum, in momento oculi ; at 
hausti, circa autumnum, (Swed. ath hoesten, id.) ; at bonda 
lifanda, quamdiu vivit paterfamilias, vel vivente eo ; At ergo 
est cum, vel quamdiu ,* Verel. Ind. Alem. az erist, impri- 
mis, Kero, Prol. c. 9- ; azjungist, demum, ad ultimum ; ibid* 
c. 2. 28. 

It is found in the composite form in a variety of terms, in 
which the peculiar sense of the preposition cannot easily be 
determined. Moes.G. at-augjan, apparere, at-haihan laxare, 
at'laisjan docere; Isl. at-burdin vires, industria, at-giorfe 
formositas, at-quaede syllaba ; Dan. ad-faerd behaviour, ad- 
gang admittance, ad-lyder to obey, ad-sptitter to divide, ad- 
spoerger, to interrogate, Scot, to speir at. By far the most 
common sense of the particle, in composition, is to. 

It has been observed, that Vossius views the preposition 
ad, and conjunction at, as originally one. He has also re- 
marked, that in Lat. at is sometimes used as the preposi- 
tion, and ad as the conjunction. Adque occurs in ancient 
inscriptions for atque. As he, and other learned writers, 
have supposed that ad might be traced to Heb. "T#, ad, it 
deserves attention that, in the same language, JIN, aeth, as a 
preposition, occurs in almost all the senses of Lat. ad and 
Goth, ad, at, signifying ad, apud, prope, coram } cum, &c. 

M 2 



~5 



180 OF SOME LATIN PREPOSITIONS 

When joined with a pronoun, it receives the dagesch forte, 
and becomes it or act. 

( 
Ob, for, on account of. 

Amongst various conjectures, thrown out by Vossius as 
to the origin of this preposition, the most probable is, that 
it has been formed from Gr. Ltto, as used in the sense of 
2««, or Lat. propter. What Scheide means by referring to 
or* succus, or oV/? ultio, I cannot guess. V. Etymol. Ind. 
1242. 

Whatever may have been the origin of ob itself, we have 
some vestiges of the use of a cognate term among the Scy- 
thian tribes. Gudm. Andr. explains Isl. of as a preposi- 
tion signifying ob ; giving as examples, aj-gangr obitus, af- 
langt oblongum, &c. He also says that an/or of is an ob- 
solete preposition, used very commonly in the sense of ob 
in ancient writings. Hence, he subjoins, auj'ugr, obversus, 
inversus, sinister, aufugt, &.c. 

In Alem. both ob and op occur in the same sense in com- 
position. Obleijj oblationes, oblatae, is most probably cor- 
rupted from the Latin. Otfrid uses Oppke nm as signifying 
sacriricare, ofterre ; and Isidore oj>per for oblationes. The 
same observation undoubtedly applies to these terms. Obu 
is used simply in the seuse oipro; as, oba guate, pro bono; 
Otfrid 



Per, by, through. 

As it seems doubtful whether the position of some phi- 
lologists, that this has been formed from *t(i, be well- 
founded, 1 have not classed it with the Gr. prepositiou. 



AND CONJUNCTIONS. 181 

Perhaps it ought rather to be viewed as allied to w«g* 
ultra. 

Isl. fyrer, anciently fyre, properly signifies per. ' The 
same came — to bear witness of the light, that all men, skyll- 
du fyrer hann trim, should through him believe;' Joh. 1. 
7. Su.G. foer has the same signification. Foer Gud aer 
that sa, Per Deum juro ita esse ; Ihre. 

Per, in composition, has two different senses, those of 
intension and privation, in which we may remark a striking 
analogy between the Lat. and Goth. The proofs of this 
analogy principally appear in the use of Alem. and Teut. 
fer, ver, vir. 

1 . Per in Lat. is used intensively, I need scarcely refer 
to per agere, perficere, percellere, &c. From Alem. louben, 
credere, is formed fer-liuuuen commodare, q. to have so 
much confidence in a person as to lend to him; from recchen 
ducere, fer-recchen porrigere ; from thuesben occidere, fir' 
duesben perdere, abolere ; from fahen progredi, fir-fahen 
persequi, signifying to follow with ardour ; from Teut. 
baesen errare, ver-baesen stupefacere ; from byten mordere, 
ver-byten admordere, morsu necare; from blyven manere, 
ver-blyven permanere, &c. 

Foer has the same acceptation in Su.G. Hence foerhin- 
dra is more forcible than hindra, impedire, foermimka than 
minska minuere ; like Lat. perjicio from facio, peroro from 
oro ; as lhre has observed, vo. Foer, A.S. for has a similar 
use. Baernan in ere, for-baernan exardere ; gnagan rodere, 
for-gnagan corrodere, &c. Fyri in Isl. has an intensive 
sense ; as fyri-banna prohibere. It is viewed as analogous 
to Lat. per, Gl. Edd. 

2. Per in Lat. has often a privative sense, as in perdere, 
per ire, perimere, &c. Alem. fer-bruchen, deficere, is from 
br lichen uti ; fer-choren, rejicere, from choren probare ; 

M 3 



1S2 OF SOME LATIN PREPOSITIONS 

fer-duen, abuti, from duen facere ; fir-dan, perdere, from 
the same verb, as Germ, ver-thun, id. from than facere. 
From Su.G. goera facere, (Scot, gar, ger, to cause, to 
make,) foer-goera perimere ; from komma venire, Jber-kom- 
ma perdere ; from ziarda fieri, foer-warda perire ; from ga 
ire, foer-ga perire. Ihre compares these to Lat per-do 
from do, per-eo from eo, and per-imo from amo. Foer-fara, 
from fa? a proficisci, more nearly resembles per-eo, as this 
is the very signification of the term. Ihre, vo. Fara, when 
referring to Lat. per-eo, per-do, adds; Interque conferen- 
dum cogita, utrum destruendi significatio particulae per sit 
adsignanda, an vero alius fontis sit vocabulum. 

A.S. for-faran perdere, like the Su.G. term, is from 
fa ran ire, for-laeran decipere, seducere, from laeran do- 
cere ; jir-don, delere, from don agere, facere, £cc. Isl. 
fi/ri, has not only an intensive, but also a privative, sense ; 
as fyri-byth interdico, from the preposition, and biuda ju- 
bere. Nemast signifies capere, fyri-netnast negligere, kuae- 
da loqui, jyri-quaeda abuegare, £cc. 

The different significations of these prepositions, the one 
conveying the idea of augmentation, the other of destruc- 
tion, are not so remote from each other as might appear at 
first view. Both in fact include the general idea of going 
quite through, either to perfection, or to perdition. They 
seem illustrated by a phrase pretty common with our old 
Scottish poets, doing to dedc y or as in old Eng., ' doing to 
death.' This seems to confirm the opinion, that per, fer, 
&c. are allied to Gr. *■«*«, which denotes excess, as formed 
from *il$u trausadigo. 



AND CONJUNCTIONS. 1& 



LATIN CONJUNCTIONS, 



Ac, and. 



This may perhaps be viewed as originally the same with 
Heb. "ftf, ach, which as it signifies sed, is also used in 
the sense of praeter, praeterquam ; of utique, omnino ; and 
of caeterum. Should this be supposed rather too remote 
a fountain, instead of deriving it, with Lennep and Scheide, 
from «»*, a verb I can find in no Lexicon, supposed to 
signify acuere, it would seem preferable to consider it as al- 
lied to the numerous Gothic family of verbs and particles 
expressing augmentation. Home Tooke has clearly proved 
the affinity of the various synonymes of Eke ; Divers. Purl. 
1. 177- Perhaps he would not have deviated far from his 
plan, although he had included Lat. ac. It may have been 
originally written aag, from aug-ere to increase ; as we know 
that c was often pronounced by the Latins as g. There is, 
at any rate, every reason to view the Lat. verb as radically 
the same with Moes.G. auk-an, A.S. aec-an, eac-an, Alem. 
auch-on, Germ, auch-en, Su.G. oek-a, Isl. auk-a, Dan. oeg~ 
er, Belg. oeck-en, all expressly signifying aug-ere. Ac cannot 
indeed be considered as different in sense from Moes.G. 
auk, A.S. eac, Alem. auk, Germ, auch, Isl. Dan. og, Su.G. 
och, Belg. 00k, Eng. eke, etiam, also,* for it properly con- 
veys the idea of addition to what has been previously said. 

Moes.G. ak, sed, seems radically different from auk 
etiam; analogous to A.s. ac and oc, id. These particles, 
however, correspond to Heb. "Jtt, ach, in one of its signi- 
fications. 

M 4 



184 OF SOME LATIN PREPOSITIONS. 



Aut, either, or. 

( 

The learned Julius Scaliger derives this from Gr. xvt-, 
rursum, iterum, postea ; De Caus. Lat. Ling. c. 2 L 2. There 
is so little connexion in signification here, that the etymon 
is by no means satisfactory. It may be worth while to exa- 
mine, if we can find any thing in die Goth, dialects, that 
has more appearance of affinity. 

Moes.G. aiththau is used precisely in the same sense. 
A7 hungaith ei quam gatairan nitoth aiththau praufetuns; 
* Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the pro- 
phets;' Matt. 5. 17. Oththe is the correspondent term in 
A.S. Tha ae oththe tha zcitegatt. i ththau occurs in the same 
sense, Joh. 9- -• Quhas J'rawaurkia, m uthtiiau fadrein is. 
ei blinds gabaurans zcarth : l Who did sin, this man, or his 
parents, that he was born blind :' In xY.S. it is oththe. It 
still occurs for % in Gr. 

In Franc, athe is commonly used as signifying aut, vel, 
in the Capituluria ; as m Lib. 4. c. 19- ^n LI. it assumes 
the form of vth, etha, and eda. In Su.G. it is also et/ia, 
cda. Tha en xerclz matlr nil trign til I dha 

til Kirkiur : Si homo secularius coenobio cuidam aut tem- 
plo bona sua immobilia legare voluerit : Leg. Gothl. c. 7. 
s. 4. 

Edo signifies aut in Alem. Edo sosama, vel etiam ; 
Kero, c. 7. Ihre and Schiiter derive modern Sax. cdder 
from this source. The latter conjoins Eng. either. But 
this is apparently from A.S. aegther uterque, alteruter ; and 
perhaps cdder should be traced to the same source. 



AND CONJUNCTIONS. 185 



Et, and. 



This conjunction has been deduced from Gr. 'in, adhuc, 
by supposing an abbreviation. To this etymon Vossius sub- 
joins ; Possis et quoque deducere ab Hebraeo fit* (eth), 
quod adverbium est congregandi. 

Moes.G. ith is often used in the sense of autem, vera ; 
also as equivalent to cum, when; sometimes for ergo, there- 
fore, and for si if. It is also used for U in Gr., as in Joh. 
6. 16. Ith swe seithu zca'rth ; i And when even was now 
come ;' *$ *b\ tyU lymro. It in like manner occurs as the 
translation of kx} ; as in Matt. 6. 24. ' No man can serve 
two masters : for either he will hate the one and love the 
other ; or else he will hold to the one, ith antharamma fra- 
kann, and despise the other;' xxl rS ir^a xarapgovuVe*. — Luk. 
1.33. Ith thiudinassaus is id wairtltith andei; ' And of 
his kingdom there shall be no end ;' K«< tks fiartXu'xs, &c» 
Sotberg reads jah in this place. 



Sed, but. 

Of the origin of this conjunction no satisfactory account 
has been assigned by Philologists. That of Lennep, from 
et, is more reasonable than any of the rest. It was anciently 
written set, V. Nolten. Lex. 1. 48. As sed is used as equi- 
valent to verum, vero, it may have some affinity to Moes.G. 
szcethau tamen, verum tamen, used in rendering Gr. wAu'v, pzv, 
pzvroi, and 3e. It is put for the latter, Matt. 7- 15. Atsai- 
quhith szoethau faura liugnpraufetum ; npA%tTt 2s uko $ivh- 
irgoQnTM\ ' But beware of false prophets/ 

Su.G. saet, satt, and Isl. satt, signify verum, being the 
neuter of sarin verus. The Moes.G. term seems allied to 



186 OF SOME LATIN PREPOSITIONS, &C. 

these; though still more closely to A.S. soth verus. Soth, 
sothe, is often used adverbially in the sense of vere, revera; 
enim, autem. Tha zcaes soth swa aer; Tunc erat autem. 
sicutantea; Caedmon. 2. 22. ( 

Swethau, saet, sothe, and Lat. sed may all be viewed as hav- 
ing been primarily used as implyitig a concession, exception, 
or limitation, of something previously expressed in a vague 
manner, q. ' to speak the truth, to speak correctly.' Hence, 
the terms would come to be applied adversatively. 



Vel, or. 

The conjectures of Vossius as to the origin of this par- 
ticle have no probability. The hypothesis of Scheide is 
scarcely more satisfactory. He views it as u>ed for veil ; 
which, he says, is the ablative of velis, sa«$, volutio, revolulio. 
The root, he adds, is utea volvo. Etyniol. Ind. p. 1300. 
But what connexion vel has with revolution, it is not easy 
to perceive. 

I take notice of this conjunction merely to remark that 
there may possibly be some affinity between it and Isl. ella. 
The resemblance is at least as strong as between it and uxi»\ 
and the sense is nearly the same; alias, aliter. We have only 
to suppose the use of the digamma here, as in the formation 
of vel from a**. Gudni. Audr. derives ella from Heb. N 1 ?}*, 
ella, quin, Mtt> iita, vel, seu, sive. But he undoubtedly 
meant to refer to vW, ulai, which properly signifies for- 
tassis. 



OF PRONOUNS. 187 



CHAPTER VII. 



OF PRONOUNS. 



From the general affinity, which, it is acknowledged, the 
Latin evidently bears to the Greek, those parts of speech, 
that are essential in the formation of every language, as oc- 
curring in the former, if not obviously derived from the latter, 
have been traced to it often at the expence of violent strain- 
ing. It seems scarcely to have been supposed by learned in- 
vestigators, that, where a Lat. word had no resemblance of 
the synonyme in Gr., it might possibly have been imported 
from some other ancient tongue. Or, if this idea has been 
entertained, a leap has been made at once to some oriental 
language; without the slightest endeavour to discover, if there 
was any intermediate link of communication with a people 
less remote both as to national consanguinity and local situ- 
ation. 

Notwithstanding the close connexion between the Gr. and 
Lat., and the certainty that great part of Italy was peopled 
in an early period by colonies from Greece, it does not seem 
at all necessary to infer, that, where the intimate affinity of 
language appears, the Latins in every instance borrowed from 
the Greeks. While it cannot be doubted that the Gr., in 
many of its more original and component terms, nearly re- 
sembles the Goth., it is not unlikely that the Latins derived 
a number of these terms immediately from the same source. 
This idea forces itself on our minds, where the Lat. word 
retains a stronger resemblance, and does not seem to have 



188 OF PRONOUNS. 

passed through the softening medium of the speech of Achaia. 
The presumption that this has been the case is still stronger, 
when we find in Lat. what may be viewed as a radical or pri- 
mary term, nearly resembling the synonyme in Goth., and 
trace no such resemblance in the Greek. 

These observations seem particularly to apply to the pro- 
nouns. While some of these, which may be traced through 
almost every dialect of the Goth., are common to Gr. and 
Lat., others are found only in the latter; or bear much 
stronger marks of resemblance to the Scythian stock than 
they do in the Greek. From the great distance of time, 
however, as well as from the difference of national confor- 
mation of organs, in consequence of habit, or the temperature 
of climate, considerable allowance must be made for a par- 
tial change of form. 

From the comparison of both nouns and pronouns in Goth, 
with those of the civilized nations of antiquity, two remarks 
occur, which may be viewed as rules necessary in conducting 
this investigation. 1. It appears that one case is often put 
for auother. In various instances, what is used as the dative 
in Goth, appears as the accusative iu Lat., and the accu- 
sative of the former as the dative of the latter. & There 
seems also to have been an interchange of genders-, unless 
it should rather be supposed, that these had not been so de- 
finitely marked in the parent language when the other branch- 
ed off from it. 

In order to give as distinct an idea as possible of this affi- 
nity, I shall exhibit, in columns, the pronouns of the northern 
nations with those of the Greeks or Romans which they re- 
semble. Where the similarity of the Goth, terms is not dis- 
cernible, or less striking, they are printed in the Romau cha- 
racter. 



OF PRONOUNS, 189 



' ; Ey«; Ego; I. 
Norn. Gen. Dat. Accus. 

r. iy-a ; ipx; px\ spot, pot ; ipi, pa 

Lat. eg-o; mei, anc. mis; mi hi, anciently mi. me. 

Moes.G. ik; mei-na; mis like anc. Lat. mik. 

gen. V. accus. mik. 

A.S. ic; min; me ; accus. rnec, from me,mec. 

Moes.G. mik ; 
Franc. ik; min; mi, me ; mi, me, 

Isl. eg; myn; mier; accus. mig; mig. 

Swed. jV/g; mig; mig; mig. 

Germ. 2cA; mei-ner; mir, accus. mich ; mich, 

Belg. «ft; my us, mei-ner; my ; my. 

and Scot. 

It is remarkable that there is scarcely a vestige of affinity 
in the plural, or dual, of some of the northern languages. 
The Lat. plural, however, seems to have had quite a differ- 
ent origin from the singular. It might perhaps be suppo- 
sed that Lat. nos had originated from the Moes.G. and 
Germ, accusative plural by transposition; and that nostri 
had some similarity to the Moes.G. and Germ, genitive un- 
sara, Germ, miser. It may be observed, that the possessive 
pronoun, in the various Goth, dialects, differs from Lat 
mens, merely in the introduction of the letter n, and in the 
termination. Moes.G. meiras, A.S. Alem. mi?*; in accusa- 
tive, mein, A.S. min, Alem. (fem.) id. ; in nominative plural, 
meiwai, A.S. Alem. mine. 



190 OF PRONOUNS. 

2*, Dor. tu; La*. Tu; Thou. , 
Nom. Gen. Dat. Accus. 

Gr. c-v ; trov i <rU 3 ci. 

Lat. tu; tui, anc. tis ; tibi ; aoc- ti ; te. 



Moes.G 


. thu ; 


theina; 


thus ; Lat. gen. tis ; thuk, 


A.S. 


thu ; 


thin ; 


the ; the. 


Franc. 


thu, tu; 


thin ; 


thir; thih. 


Isl. 


thu ; 


thyn ; 


thier ; thig. 


Swed. 


du ; 


thig; 


thig; thig. 


Germ. 


du ; 


deiner ; 


dir ; dich. 



Some might be disposed to view Moes.G. jos, you, as in- 
dicating some affinity to Lat. vos ; unless it should be sup- 
posed that the latter remains iu izwis, which has the same 
signification. This, however, has more resemblance of Gr. 
e(pug, the nominative plural of ov. If we suppose the letter 
i in izwis to be postponed, it would give a sound very similar 
to that of the dative c-QTrt. 



Lat. is, ea, id ; he, she, it. 

Nom. Gen. Dat. Accus. 

Lat. is; ejus; ei; euni. 

Moes.G. is; is, fern, izos; imma; ina, dat. imm-a, 

A.S. he,* hi; him, gen.///; bine, dat. him. 

Franc. ir, hie ; iz, es; himo; him, hi/no, hin. 

Isl. sa; thessj theim; thauu. 



OF PRONOUNS. 191 







In Feminine. 






Nom. 


Gen. 


Dat. 


Accus. 


Lat. 


ea, sa; 


ejus; 


ei; 


earn. 


Moes.G, 


. si, so, soh; 


izos, accus. 
ija; 


izai, accus. 
ija; 


ija. 


A.S. 


seo ; 








Franc. 


siu, sia; 


hiro, iro ; 


hiro, iro ; 


siu, sia, se.- 


Isl. 


su : 


theirrar 


theirre ; 


thaa. 



It is believed by philologists, that the ancient Latins used 
sa for ea, because they said 50s instead of eos. We learn 
from Ennius that the latter was continued to his time. V. 
Auctor. Lat. Ling. p. 185. Ulph. Illustr. p. 178. vo. Sa. 
We perceive the analogy between Lat. sa, Moes.G. si, so, &c. 
and not only the female pronoun demonstrative of our times 
she, but old Eng. and Scot, scho, id. 

As sos was used for eos, we discern the relation that Lat. 
suus had to the third person, as signifying what belonged to 
him, or was his ozcn. Gr. 0-0?, indeed, had the sense of tnus, 
as formed from *» tu, or « te. But it can hardly be suppo- 
sed, that the Latins would derive a term, to be applied in 
their language to the third person, from one in Gr. restricted 
to the sefbnd. Vossius says that suus was anciently sos, sa, 
sum, which he derives from Gr. <k, id.; the sibilation being 
frequently substituted by the Aeolians for the aspirate. If 
we suppose the Latins to have borrowed directly from the 
Scythians, no such change was necessary. For, as Moes.G. 
sis corresponds to s/zzand sibi, andsiA*, Franc, sih, to se, sues 
signifies suus, proprius. 

To Lat. id correspond Moes.G. ita, A.S. hit, Isl. hitt, 
hid, Franc, hit, it, Belg. het, Eng. it, Scot. hit. 



19& OF PRONOUNS. 



Iii Plural. 





Nom. 




Gen. 




Dat. 


.A ecus. 


Lat. 


eae; 




cor-um, 




Us, eis ; 


cos, 
eas. 


Moes.G 


eis like 


Lat. 






gen. jj», 






dat., als 


o/)-a; 






/co. 


ijos, fei 


A.S. 


hig> iga 


,At; 


hir-a, 
hcor-a. ; 








Franc. 






hir-a, hir 
her ; 


-o; 




si, sia, 


Isl. 






theirr-9 ; 








O. Eng. 






Aer, lion 


fAetr 







Tn Moes.G. the article, in all its cases, genders, and num- 
bers, with the addition of ei, holds the place of a relative 
pronoun. Perhaps the accusative plural thus may be view- 
ed as resembling eos, with the dental sound prefixed. 

From this comparison there seems far more reason to 
think, that the Latins borrowed the pronoun is, ea, from the 
Scythians, than that they formed it horn Gr. Un^ as Julius 
Scaliger imagines, or from U according to the opinion of 
Vossius. If formed from '«*, there would certainly have 
been some resemblance in the oblique cases. T^ere is no 
similarity, however, between £ and ejus, 2 and ei, Sec. 
But as the nominative is the same in Lat. and Moes.G., we 
have seen that there is a striking analogy between the oblique 
cases in Lat., and some of these in most oi the northern 
languages. 

Quis, quae, quid? "Who, which, what? The conjectures 
of etymologists, as to the origin of this pronoun, are by no 
means satisfactory. Julius Scaliger derives it from xxi '/. 
Vossius prefers the opinion of those who deduce the former 



OF PRONOUNS. 



193 



from t/?. Scheide is inclined to substitute xl % as the origin 
of quis, and k\ f of qui. Etymol. p. 1265. But there is 
undoubtedly such resemblance between quis and the analo- 
gous Goth, pronouns, as to give reason for supposing that 
they had a common root. 





Nom. 


Gen. 


Dat. 


Accus. 


Lat. 


quis ; 


cujus, anc. 


cui, anc 


. quern. 




quae ; 


quoius ; 


quoi ; 


quam. 




quid, quod 


'•> 




quid, quod. 


Moes.G 


. quhas-, 
quho ; 
quha ; 


quhis ; 


g'w/ie ; 


quhau-a. 

dat. quhammjj, 

quha. 


A.S. 


hzca ; 






hzmene, hwone, 
dat. hzvam. 




hzmet ; 


hzcaes ; 




hzcaet. 


Alem. 


zeer ; 
huer ; 
wat,huat\ 


zves, hues \ 




zten-a, huen~a. 
dat. wem, huem. 
huat. 


Isl. 


huer ; 
huor ; 


huers ; 
huerrar ; 








huert ; 


huers ; 




huert. 


Svved. 


hwem ; 
hwad ; 


hwars ; 




hwem. 
hzcem. 
hzvad. 


Belg. 


trie ; 


wieus ; 


wien; 


zcien. 




zvat; 


wier; 




wat. 



In Islandic, in which r seems a favourite, though often 
silent in the end of a word, we find this letter inserted, which 
partially obscures the resemblance. In genitive plural huor- 
ra is used in all the genders, nearly resembling quorum ; 
Ulphilas renders *& rtvx by du quhamma, Joh. 6. 6*8. 
But as almost all the Gothic tribes prefer n to m in the ac- 
cusative, it may be observed, that in this respect there is 

N 



194 O* PRONOUNS. • 

more sinilarity to the Gr. than to the Lat. Thus Moes.G. 
quhan-a, A.S. hzcaene, hzcone, Alem. huen-a, &c. exhibit 
symptoms of early relation to Gr. of, jjf. I am indeed strong- 
ly inclined to think that the aspirate of the Greeks, the gut- 
tural of the Goths, and the sound expressed by qu in Lat., 
were originally the same; or differed as little from each 
other as the pronunciation of a particular word, or letter, 
does in one proviuce, from that which prevails in another. 



QualiSj of what sort. 

I 

It is unnecessary to make any observations here with re- 
spect to the affinities of this relative, either to the Gr., or to 
the Goth, dialects. Enough has been said on this subject, 
under the terminations A<*o?, Lis. I shall only add, that 
Moes.G. quhi/eiks occurs, Matt. 8. 27. for wowewos, ' What 
manner of person is this?' Qualis est hie ? Jun. It is from 
quhe cui, and leiks similis ; literally, to what, or, to whom, 
like? used interrogatively, precisely in the same sense with 
Scot, quhat-like. All that is intended here, is to exhibit the 
Lat. term as compared with those of similar signification in 
the northern languages. 

Nom. Gen. Dat. Accus. 

Lat, qualis; qualis; quali; qualem. 

Moes.G. quheleiks ; quheleikis ; quheleik- quheleikana. 

amma ; Gr. qXixvi. 
A.S. hzcik; quhilces; lucilcum; hidlcne. 

Franc, hitile, huilic y iceliches ; 

zcelich, &c. 
Swed. hzcilken; hzcilkens; hzcilken ; hzcilken. 
Belg. zcelk, zcelke ; uclks, ea'/ker ; zcelken ; aelken. 

It would be superfluous to illustrate (alii iu the same 



OF PRONOUNS. 195 

manner. The same resemblance may be marked between 
Lat. uter and Franc, zvether, uueder, huether ; also between 
neuter and Franc, nezvether, id. V. Hickes, Gramm. Fr. 
Theot. p. 43. 

The observations of Ihre, a man who has the highest 
claims on the literary world, concerning the Lat. relative 
terms ending in ter, are entitled to peculiar attention. Speak- 
ing of alter, he says ; " Every body perceives, that the first 
part of the word is formed from alius ; but what is the 
meaning of the latter part, is not equally obvious, unless it be 
viewed as equivalent to eorum, so that alter is, q. alius eorum, 
uter — quis eorum, neuter — nullus eorum. That no one may 
think that this is merely accidental, the consonancy of the Gr. 
language is to be remarked, which has the same termination, 
only with the addition of og ; as in eVgg-o?, Tran^-og, Ucin^-og, 
ktin^-og, &c. In Moes.G., evidently in the same sense, the 
synonymous words terminate in thar ; as anthar alter, hva- 
thar uter : and we still use enthera alteruter, hzcilkenthera 
uter, ingenthera neuter. That the Gr. and also the Lat. owe 
theirs to the Goths, is evident from this, that thera, the geni- 
tive plural of the pronoun then [ille], remains among us only ; 
for our ancestors, as appears from our ancient laws, as well 
as from our historical writings, said gods thera, bona eorum. 
thera skip, eorum naves, &c." Ulph. lllust. Pref. p. 8. 



9 Exi7vos, ille. 

Lennep derives Gr. Ixuvog from the obsolete btbg, which, 
lie says, does not differ much in meaning from U»g, 'procul. 
Hence he deduces Ut7, illic there, as if it were said, "in a 
place at some distance." Scheide views '(ku, venio, cedo, as 
the origin, through \xti as the medium, quasi dicas cessione ; 
Etymol. p. 262. In Moes.G. joins precisely corresponds 
to bcsTvos. The initial letter is G, in that form for which the 

N 2 



196 OF PRONOUNS. 

northern literati have, in writing, substituted J. But it 
should be observed, that it is not pronounced as Fr. J, but 
as Eng. Y in the beginning of a word. 1 nis is obvious 
from Moes.G ja ita, the origin of our yea ; jcr, annus, a 
year ; jung, juvenis, young ; juk, jugum, a yoke. In A.S. 
and Alem., G is used, in place of this letter ; and there 
seems good reason to think that it was anciently pronounced 
very differently from Y, as being, at least, a strong guttural. 
Jams would thus sound as if the initial letter had been Gr. 
%-, if it did not more nearly resemble the articulation of *. 
Alem. chein, also kein, ullus, might seem to be a cognate 
term. Although rendered nul/us by Schilter, and also by 
Wachter, Hickes gives it a sense directly opposite. But 
there can be no doubt of the affinity of Alem. gener, iste, 
hodie jener. V. Schilter in vo. In the plural it is 
Gene al, isti omnes ; Otfrid. This, it appears, has lost the 
original sound of the initial consonant. Hence in Belg. 
gender, illic, istic ; as Moes.G. jainar, ibi, illic, jaind iiluc, 
from jains or gains, ille. Kilian writes ghender ; and ghcne, 
ille, is. Here we see the origin of Eng. yond, yonder, al- 
though immediately formed from A.S. geond, id. Su.G. 
hin, ille, as well as Isl. Iiinn, id. and hann iste, must cer- 
tainly be traced to the same source. Thus it appears that 
Moes.G. joins, or gains, must have originally been pronoun- 
ced with at least a guttural sound. 



OF THE NAMES OF NUMBERS.' 197 



CHAPTER VIII. 



OF THE NAMES OF NUMBERS. 



It is generally admitted, that one of the most certain tests 
of the affinity of nations, is a comparison of the designations 
given in their different languages to numbers. There may 
often be a similarity, or even an identity of terms, having the 
same meaning, while this is merely the effect of accident, or 
at most of occasional intercourse. But when the names of 
numbers, in one language, appear radically the same with 
those in another, it scarcely admits of a doubt that they have 
originated from a common fountain. To this test the affin- 
ity of the Goth, to the Gr. and Lat. may safely be submitted. 
Considerable variation may be supposed ; as this is obvious 
even in the Lat., where it is believed that the term was bor- 
rowed from the Greek. Thus it is admitted that unus has 
been formed, not from %U } but from the genitive b-oq. 



K3 



198 



9 * '« $ *i 



42 ts 



28? ^ 






o 






* ^ fe 



as *» cs 






g H 









^5 K "*■» 



in 

CS 

« 

S 

P 
K 

fa 
o 

l/i 

w 

w 

a 

H 

fa 

O 






s 



~ a 



a IT 



TS ^ bo a < -i 



. CO 55 

9 ~ o ° ^ ~r 






e ~ -a © -s 

.*> . *> z*. 2: :*> 






s> 



Q tk M 



^ « 



O Cu S „ £ K. 

bD S « c ,i ^ 

< 1 i*^ **■« 






O '5 * 















a •* § 

<! 'S "5 






5M 5> so 



1 



I -a 



u 



.^ (lit 






^k 



ji ** 



OF THE NAMES OF NUMBERS. 199 

There is not less difference between quatuor and rerrx^x, 
than between either of these and most of the Goth, words 
signifying/bur. It is to be observed, however, that as the 
Aeolians instead of x'irrx%x said wm^, whence quatuor is 
supposed to have been immediately formed, the Lat. term 
has less resemblance of this than Moes. G.Jidzcor has, sr and 
/"being letters of the same class. Instead of tt/vts, the Do- 
rians used 7riyx.i f to which quinque is referred as its origin. 
V. Salmas. de Hellenist. Moes.G. and Alem.fimf are more 
nearly allied to Aeolic mpos. In the designation of the two 
next numbers, all the Goth, languages have, like the Lat., 
prefixed the sibilation, where the Gr. has the aspirate. 

As the Greeks denominated the intermediate numbers be- 
tween ten and twenty, by adding the term in either language 
denoting the unit meant, as ivhtcx, undecim ; the same plan 
was observed in most cases by the Goths. Their mode of 
reckoning round numbers was similar. They, in the lower 
numbers,, used tig, now softened down to ty ; as Moes.G. 
tzcaimtig, i. e. twice ten, thrinslig, thirty. For it appears, 
that tig corresponds to Gr. SUx, just as tehund, which the 
Moeso-Goths preferred in denominating the higher numbers; 
instead of ahtautig saying ahtaiitehund, eighty. Junius 
thinks that taihun or tehun, may have been originally daika 9 
changed to daiha, taiha, taihun; Goth.Gl. It is singular, 
that the termination of viginti should so nearly give the form 
of Moes.G. tig. This, however, may be merely accidental, 
a being used afterwards, as triginta, &c. The only con- 
jecture made as to the Lat. termination ginta, is, that it is 
equivalent to kovtx in Gr, which has been viewed as abbre- 
viated from ^Uovret, from %ko$ allied in signification to %*x, 
ten. V. Scheide Etymol. p. 2,55, 256. 

The learned Wachter ingeniously derives A.S. tyn from 
Isl. tin-a colligere, because the ancients used to reckon by 
the fingers, and ten, he says, is, omnium digitorum coliectio. 
Lennep derives SUx from $U<» accipio ; Scheide prefers %» 

N 4 



200 OF THE NAMES OF NUMBERS. 

ligo, because the units are combined in this number. Did 
we proceed on the same ground with Wachter, kfaw ostendo, 
monstro, indico, might seem to have as good a claim as 
either of them. 

The affinity between the Gothic and Celtic is undoubted- 
ly very remote. A considerable number of radical and mo- 
nosyllabic terms, however, are common to both. It must 
be evident that the names of numbers, as found among the 
ancient British, ought to be reckoned among these. They 
are un, daze, dwy, dri, fedzcar, pump, chnctch, saith, wyth, 
naze, and deg. In Gaelic they are aon, da, tri, ceithir, 
cuig, s£ or sia, seachd, ochd, naoi, and deich. 

1 shall here subjoin the declension of the different terms 
signifying one, as a proof of their near relation. 





Norn. 


Gen. 


Dat. 




Accus. 


Gr. 


Uc, i> } 


e»o? ; 


In; 




iix. 


Lat. 


un us ; 


unhts ; 


um ; 




ttnum. 


Moes.G 


a ins, ain ; 


ainis; 


ainamma ; 
pi. anai ; 


dat 


a hi aim, ain 


A.S. 


an, acn; 


anes; 


anum ; 




anne. 


Franc. 


ei/n, en ; 


eines ; 


einemo ; 




einen, an. 


Isl. 


eifvn, eijn ; 


ej/ns ; 


einum ; 




einn. 



Gr. nt{««, alter, is formed from ifc, uuus, as a compara- 
tive ; Dor. kfi^c. Moes.G. anlhar has been viewed as a 
cognate term, notwithstanding the intermediate n. For 
some of the Gothic tribes were partial to this letter, intro- 
ducing it in word* from which it was excluded bv others 
of the same stock. While cuih signilied notus among the 
Anglo-Saxons, it was kunths in Moes.G., eund in Alem. 
For A.S. muth os, other tribes said rnund, Sec. Thus, in- 
stead of Moes.G. anlhar, the A.S. term was other. From 
b, the neuter of uc, or e»» 5 the genitive, the Greeks formed 
iuxec singularis ; from unus, the Latins unieu< : and in like 
manner from ain the Moeso- Goths had tlieir ainah-a, 
ainoh-Of unu-us, unic-a. 



OF COMPARISON. 201 



CHAPTER IX. 



OF COMPARISON, 



This is the only thing in regard to nouns, that seems to 
require particular notice. 

1. The comparative in Gr., it has been generally said, 
is formed by means of n^. Later writers, however, seem 
to view €g«$ as properly the termination ; observing that 
" adjectives, regularly compared, have the comparative by 
changing $ of the positive into t, and assuming «g©$." V. 
Jones, Gramm. p. 19« If this observation be well-founded, 
«g is most probably the only essential part of the termina- 
tion. In some instances t seems to be inserted merely for 
the sake of the sound ; as in ««**«■- gg«$ simplicior, from 
<*5ta2s simplex, 6v**V-6g»« benevolentior, from iim bene- 
volus. 

According to this idea, the conformity between the Gr. 
and Goth., in this mode of comparison, is obvious. Er is 
not used, indeed, by Ulphilas ; but it is the common sign 
of the comparative in the A.S., which, as a written lan- 
guage, has the next claim to antiquity. Nor is er only used, 
but also ere, ar, aere, ir, or, ur, yr ; and all these in an em- 
phatical form with the addition of a, as era, ara, &c. Er 
"has the same use in Alem., as in scon-er pulchrior, from 
scon pulcher 5 also in Germ, and Belgic. In Su.G. and 



OF COMPARISON* 

IflL, it assumes the form of are. Thus, from Isl. ski/r cla- 
rus, is formed skyr-are clarior. 

The observation of Wachter on this subject qeserves par- 
ticular attention. " No particle," he says, " can be better 
adapted for this purpose. For er with the ancients signifies 
ante. Hence, annexed to the positive, it strengthens its 
meaning, and communicates to it that degree which it for- 
merly had not. For ante is not only used in relation to 
time and place, but also as to quality." Proleg. Sect. vi. 
Thus stark, signifying strong, when it assumes the form of 
staerk-er, denotes that the person spoken of is strong before 
another, that is, surpasses him in strength. In a similar 
manner, Alem. furira, primarily signifying anterior, from 
furi,fur, ante, before, is used in the sense of major, prae- 
pollens. Furira Abrahamc, major Abrahamo ; Otfr. iii. 
18. ()6. Furiro, in Gl. Mons. is not only rendered major, 
but melior. 

Or is the termination used in Lat., as docti-or, from doc- 
tus, &c. But the change here is not greater thau what is 
often found in A.S. and Alem. From A.S. leoht, levis, is 
formed leoht-or, levior ; from Alem. scon, not only scon-er, 
but scon-or. 

The Moes.G. forms this degree by adding izo, or oza. 
Thus hauh-izo is altior, from liauh altus ; frod-iza sapien- 
tior, from froda sapiens ; Siciuth-ozu fortior, from saint Jul 
fortis. There is a considerable likeness between the former, 
and one mode of forming the Gr. comparative, when £*» 
or <nruv is the termination; as in uutv* major, kpufg-oii melior. 
Moes G. maizo, major, seems indeed the same with the 
Gr. word, only that the final » is wanting ; as the superla- 
tive maibts, maximus, might seem merely an abbreviated 
form of ft'tyiros. 

G. As the Gr. in various instances forma the superlative 
by the addition of <r#;, the Moes.G. resembles it by the 



OF COMPARISON. 203 

use of ists, ista. From kxX-o? pulcher, or rather from x«aa« 
eg pulchritudo, originates Kcixx^trog pulcherrimus ; from e%6oe 
inimicitia, tjcfi-ws valde inimicus ; from ftiyag magnus, ^sy- 
trog niaximus; from 7roX-vg multus, 7rte7rog plurimus. Thus, 
from Moes.G. manags multus, is formed manag-ists ; the 
comparative being managizo ; from hauh altus, hauhizu al- 
tior, hauh-ists altissimus. When the superlative is used 
with peculiar emphasis, ista is the termination ; bat-ista op- 
timus, manag-ista plurimus, Jrum-ista primus. In what 
has been called the Runic, or oldest Scandinavian dialect 
of the Gothic, brad-ista signifies latissimus. V. Hickes, 
Gramm. A.S. 4°. p. 23. This learned writer remarks the 
affinity between this and the Gr. mode of comparison. 

The same form is preserved in A.S. For ast, aest, est, 
ist 9 ost, ust, yst, all mark the superlative ; and emphatically, 
asta, aesta, &c. Thus rihtwis-ast, -est, -iste, siguifies jus- 
tissimus, from rihtwise Justus, This holds equally true of 
the Francic. Of scon or scono, pulcher, scon-est or scon-ost 
is the superlative. This rule is also general in the language 
of Iceland. The termination is astur, emphatically asta. 
In Su.G. it is ast, as laerd-ast, doctissimus, from laerd 
doctus ; in Germ, este, as weis-este, sapientissimus, from 
weise sapiens. The Germ, and Belg. follow the same plan, 
by adding st or ste to the positive. Thus, from er prior, 
the Germans form erst primus; from hoch celsus, hochst 
celsissimus ; from stark fortis, staerkist fortissimus. V. 
Wachter. Proleg. Sect. vi. 

3. There seems to be considerable reason for supposing, 
that -imns, the sign of the superlative in Lat., is radically 
the same with -mists, which, besides iste and ista, is used 
in Goth, for marking this degree of comparison. In the 
version of Ulphilas, not only does hauhists occur in the 
sense of altissimus, but auhu-mists, emphatically auhumista. 
Junius views this as equivalent to hauhumists. In the same 



204 OF COMPARISON. 

manner, aftu-mists, emphatically aftu-mista, signifies ulti- 
mus ; hi/idu-mists, extremus, Eng. hindmost. Analogous 
to this is A.S.formcst, primus, Eng. foremost ; neothemest, 
imus, infimus, Scot, ncdmist, A.S. ufe-mest, ufe-myst, su- 
premus, Scot, uruaist, u/uist. 

Grammarians say that in Lat., if the positive end in er, 
the superlative is formed by adding rimus ; and if it end not 
in er, from the next case in i, by adding ssimus. But 
grammatical rules are deductions from facts, or perhaps 
more frequently from appearances. The first principle ob- 
viously laid down in these rules, is, that all those letters 
must be viewed as marking the superlative, in, one particu- 
lar form, w hich are not found in some case of the positive. 
But on what ground, save that of mere appearance, must 
we suppose so many modes of forming the superlative, one 
from the nominative, as pulc/ier-rimus from pulcker; one 
from the genitive, as docti-s>ij/ius from docti ; and one from 
the dative, as miti-ssimus from mid? Is it not more reason- 
able to suppose, that originally the distinctive termination 
would be added to the noun in its most simple form ? This 
seems evidently to hate been the case as to pulclier and mi- 
tis. They would thus appear as pulcner-imus and mitt* 
imus ; but, euphoniae causa, the last consonant of the posi- 
tive would be doubled. This corresponds to the general 
analogy of language. Thus, in Eng., from sot we do not 
form sotish, but sottish. In the same manner / is doubled 
before, or in the last syllable of the preterite or participle 
past of verbs ending with this letter : as travel-led, level-led\ 
&c, although it need scarcely be said that ed is the proper 
termination. This observation, it may be thought, cannot 
apply to docti- But, perhaps it has been originally 

formed from the nominative singular, with the change of u 
into /. 

It is evident, at anv rate, that imus alone can be viewed 
as the sign of the superlative. This appears from the va- 



OF COMPARISON. 205 

riable character of the preceding consonant, which is not 
only r or s, but frequently /, x, t, f, n. Besides, this ter- 
mination is found in many words, in which it is preceded 
by no adventitious consonant ; as, ext-imus, dext-imus, ult- 
imus, wf-imus. 

When we view the Lat. termination solely in regard to 
the language in which it is used, we can discover no mean- 
ing in it. We are reduced to the necessity of supposing 
that it was introduced merely as an arbitrary sign. If we 
compare it with the Gr., from which so many Latin terms 
have had their origin, we are equally at a loss. But if we 
suppose it to have had a common source, and perhaps a 
common form with Moes.G. mists, we can discern a satis- 
factory reason for the adoption of this termination. For 
there is great reason to think that mists is the same with 
maists, maximus, summus ; as there cannot be a doubt that 
this is the meaning of maest, mest, the analogous termina- 
tion in A.S., now written most. As A.S. iife-mest, and 
Scot, umist, have precisely the same signification with Lat. 
summits, what if they were radically one ? We have only to 
suppose that the Latins prefixed the sibilation, a practice, 
as we have seen, very common with them. 

Did we regard the rule, with respect to the formation of 
the superlative from the first case in i, it might seem, from 
a variety of examples, that -mus was the only essential cha- 
racter of this degree. Thus, from facilis would be formed 
facili-mus; from agilis, agili-mus; from similis y simili-mus; 
I being doubled to make the sound more grateful to the 
ear. 

One objection occurs, however, to this hypothesis. It 
supposes a resemblance to the Goth, in that part of the 
word which is subject to inflection ; -imus being changed 
to ~ima, -imum, -imi, &c. The only conjecture that can be 
formed here, and it must be admitted that it is nothing 
more, is, that the ancestors of the Latins had received the 



206 



OF COMPARISON. 



term maists or mists, merely in casu recto, perhaps, while 
used by the Scythian tribes without declension; and that, 
softening its sound, they had at length lost the recollection 
of its original meaning, and used it as a common termina- 
tion. We have the highest degree of presumptive evidence, 
as has been seen in examining the terminations Aixo; and 
Lis, that these are originally the same with Goth, kiks ; 
simi/is being perfectly analogous to sama/eiks, &c. Vet, 
it is certain, that this Goth, word, when it passed through 
the alembic of the Latins, was subjected to the same trans- 
mutation with their common terminations, so as to lose its 
distinctive characters. Instead of Mocs.G. nom. pi. sama- 
teik-os, the Romans said simil-es. 

4. The same irregularity, in the formation of the degrees 
of comparison, which is found in Gr. and Lat., may be re- 
marked in the Goth, dialects. In many instances the com- 
parative and superlative are formed from the positive; but 
in others there is no connexion save in signification. I shall 
subjoin some examples illustrative of this resemblance in 
anomaly. 



Gr. 


ayocfcs, 


»¥•'»'> 


ap.^a. 


Lat. 


bonus, 


me I i or, 


optimus. 


Moes.G 


. gods, 


batizo, 


batists, or batista, 


A.S. 


god, 


betere, 


beti/st. 


IsL 


gooile. 


bet re, 


beste. 


Germ. 


g"t> 


besser, 


besten. 


Belg. 


goed, 


beter, 


best. 


Gr. 


piyctg, 


ffy*, 


p'iyws, 


Lat. 


magnus, 


major. 


max imus. 


Moes.G. miki/s, 


maizo, 


maists, or tnaista. 


A.S. 


mi eel, 


maere, 


m<; 


Isl. 


mikelly 


meire, 


mestur or m 


Germ. 


michel, 


mehr, 


meiste. 



OF COMPARISON. 207 

J need scarcely observe, that the Goth, words, expressing 
the positive, have had a common origin with the obsolete 
adjective pkyx\-og, whence pkyets borrows its feminine. Wach- 
ter has remarked the affinity of parses to Pers. mih magnus, 
whence mihter major, mihtras, maximus. As the compara- 
tive of Moes.G. leitil parvus, is minn-izo, and the superlative 
minn-ists ; it must occur, that both ihese indicate' the saine 
origin with Lat. min-or, and min-imus. Isl. minne signifies 
minor, and Alem, min, Germ, and Belg. minder. Moes.G. 
minnists differs from minimus merely in the termination; 
ists being used in this word. Had the other sign of the super- 
lative been adopted, it would have been minmists ; and from 
the form of the Lat. term, it seems probable that this was 
the more ancient mode. 

5. As in Gr. and Lat., many comparatives and superla- 
tives are, in the Goth, dialects, formed from prepositions or 
adverbs. Thus, as from &£> we have 7r^an^og and ^orxrog, 
from Lat. prae, anciently pri, the analogous terms prior and 
primus, from A.S.for is former and firmest. From ante 
the Latins have formed anterior ; from super, superior and 
supremus, like vTr^n^g and v7r^Txrog from £»-sg. In like 
manner, from Moes.G. hindar retro, post, comes the super- 
lative hindumists extremus. Ihre has observed, that from 
ancient Su.G. auft, ifti, ufti, post, was formed the compara- 
tive aefri, ofri, yfri, posterior, and the superlative aefst pos- 
tremus. V . vo. Efter. 



<20S 



OF VERBS, 



CHAPTER X. 



OF VERBS. 



More than a century has elapsed since the indefatigable 
Hickes remarked after Stiernhelm, the striking conformity 
between the Lat. and the Moes.G. verb in the mode of de- 
clension. So strict is this conformity, he says, that they 
evidently appear to have had a common parentage. It ought 
to be observed, however, that this resemblance is not uniform 
throughout the verb. It is most obvious in the present indica- 
tive. 





Lat. 


Habro, 


Moes 


G. 


Hahtf. 






Habes, 






Habtf/s. 






Habet, 






Habaith. 






Ilabcmits, 






Haba/ra. 






Habefr's, 






Habaith. 






Habtvtf, 






Haband. 


Pretcr. 




Habwf, 






Hdbaida. 


Part. pr. 




Habtftf, 

Habentis, 
Habe/;/f, 
Hdbentem, 
Habeates, 






Habands. 

Uabandis. 

Habandin. 

Habandan. 

llabandans. 



Tlie affinity will be still more obvious, if it be adverted to 
that at in Moes.G. is sounded as e in Latin. This has been 
clearly proved by the industrious Sotberg in his annotations 



OF VEHBS. ^OD 

on the version of Ulphilas, Matt. 10. 25, and Mar. 1. 45. 
Where « is the Gr. vowel, the Moesian bishop has used the 
letter e ; and for s, ai. Thus for BjjS-ase^ he writes Bethlai- 
haim, Herodes, for 'h^jj?, &c. Mareschall. Observ. in Matt. 
11. 16. Moes.G. haba/s must therefore have been pronounced 
as Lat. habes, &c. 

The Moeso- Goths, like the Latins in the formation of 
some of their verbs, and more especially like the Greeks, 
prefixed an augment to the preterite. As the Greeks from 
Kciia made TrgTro^os, and the Latins from tango formed tetigi, 
from pello, pepuli, &c. the ancient Goths prefixed to their 
preterite the first letter of the verb, if this was a consonant, 
with the diphthong ai subjoined. Thus the preterite of bi- 
laikan, illudere, was bi-lai-Iaik; of fahan capere, fai-Jah; 
of faldan plicare, fai-falth ; of greitan flere, gai~grol ; of 
tekan capere, tai-lok. If the verb began with a vowel, they 
either merely prefixed the diphthong ai, or inserted it after 
the first consonant in the word. From aukan, augere, they 
formed the preterite ai-auk; from afaikan, negare, af-ai-aik. 
The resaon, however, of postponing the augment in the latter 
seems to have been, that afaikan is undoubtedly a compound 
verb, af being the preposition. It would appear that the 
Moeso-Goths also used aikan as signifying affirmare, whence 
perhaps Su.G. jaka id. ; and that the preposition a had a pri- 
vative sense, so as to change the meaning of the verb to which 
it was prefixed. 

The Moes.G. and Gr. resemble each other in the use of 
the dual, with this difference, that, instead of the second and 
third persons, as in the active voice in Gr., it occurs only in 
the first and second in Moes.G. The dual was used in pro- 
nouns by the Anglo-Saxons and Alemanni. It is still retained 
in [si., and extended to verbs. 

O 



210 or verbs. 

The Goths had their absolute case, in common with the 
Greeks and Latins. Where the Greeks u-ed the genitive, 
and the Latins the ablative, in this form of /Construction, 
the Scythian tribes preferred the dative. According to 
Uirkes, indeed, they had an ablative case ; and their phra- 
seology might in this view be denominated the ablative ab- 
solute. But we have formerly observed, that the northern 
writers view what he calls the ablative as merely the dative, 
there being no difference of termination. Ulphilas uses 
Loth the present, and the past participle, in this form. 

Dalutli than atgangandin imma af fairgunja, iaisiidedun 
afar iiiuna iunjons managos ; Malt. S. 1. 'J ding, 

(descendente illo, Jun.) from the mountain, great multi- 
tudes followed him.' The dative U hi re used in Gr. : 
fidtn Vi etvrm . — Juh a! wU 'aufuwaim thaim d the 

gredag* worth ; Luk. 4. 'J. * And 
he afterward hungered.' K«< rvtrtXurei-.e-eiT xCra>, *n{M 
vxa-i. The same construction occurs in the AS. vers 
And l ham (!■ I urn, hit \e. The sub- 

stantive and participle may be viewed either as in the dative, 
or as in the ablati 

I beg leave to call the attention of the reader to the 
striking coincidence between die Goth, tongues, and those 
of the Greeks and Romans, in i elation to the suhstai 
verb. The irregularity, not only of the Lat., but of the Gr. 
verb, net ly be remarked. Each <•: ms to 

have borrowed from different verbs varying considerably in 
form. Sum and es, tram and fui t indicate no radical affi> 
mty , and is-ouxi seems to have vtry little connexion with 

The Moeso*< ioths had two substantive verl esse, 

and uaitthaji, signifying uot oni We might 

almost suppose that the Latins had im rt i this 
respt-ct, fieri signifying not only to be 



OF VERBS. 511 

They, as the preterite of sum, had adopted fui from the 
obsolete verb fuo, Gr. <pva>, nascor, fio, sum. But there 
are other parts of the substantive verb, of the*. origin of 
which no account has been given. Some writers have de- 
duced the first person singular of the indicative from Gr. 
tip), taking it for granted that the sibilation had been pre- 
fixed. Others, as Vossius, with greater probability, de- 
rive it from the future of the Gr. verb, tc-o/nxt ; as ancient 
writers used esuiu, esis, esit, esumus, &c. for sum, es, est, 
sumus. But the question still demands resolution, Whence 
came z&$fieu? Do* we transgress the bounds of legitimate 
etymology, in supposing that this may have had a common 
origin with Moes.G. wk-au ; especially, when we find that 
this verb, in the first person plural of the preterite indica- 
tive, has the form of zcesum, and in the subjunctive, same 
tense, zceseim-a ? 

But, in order to give a comparative view of the affinity 
of the Gr. and Lat. verbs to those of the Goths, I shall ex- 
hibit them together ; selecting such parts especially as seem 
most nearly allied. 



o 2 



242 OF VERBS. 






"**- "^ s^ ' — ^! 2:^*" ~ ^ — ^ :: 

I .S *S .S *> £ ? £ ^ 8 

«9 55 vs <*> ** <^ w I* O ■* ^ ' ■ 






s 

... £ 

> k -is 



<-> ■ .sl 5 a 2 e. O P S 9 ^j c 5 






^ '^ « '» "S s* y C :'c-isfc 









s? .i: .2 ■ fc 8 ft • 



i £ S 3 



.5 s 



O 



o S < «< o « 





(9 g 


<*> £ 






h 


# 





q 


e 


en 




S 5 


x i - — 


^s 


«< 3 3 © « 



OF ^ERBST. 



213 



H 



















-• 










S3 




«s 
























* 




^ 
























*» 










• c% 


















03 


• 

HO 

5*. 


'3 

1 




• 


03 


8 


.si 














•5 
g 


CJ 




«c 


«•» 


60 


<s 


<o 


H 










•3 


















fc 










s 




«#» 










.rv 




Ed 










o 


•8 

13 


4 

•esl 

I 




T 

5> 






5> 


CO 






2° 




d 
•1 


a 

OJ 

6 
« 

r— < 

5 


















hJ 


CS 


§j 


s 


O 




t 














£j 


*9 


CO 

s 


s 

8 




J3 


■ 


•3 
i 


> 


1 

*eo 


03 

1 

• ^* 


iq 


"<o 




5 

SI 


q 

CO 

O 


j 

3 




• 


IS 

o 
3 

o 
**3 


. r. 




< 

£2 




.'S 


5> 
0? 




5 












4f 


W 

S 


1 


S 


"«9 


«o 


•^ 


•—a 

"3 


I 4 












<*> 

CO 

V 



S 
C3 

-a 



2 ^ 
%> 3 



co c© to cc r^ 






^ 



<5J 

S .«v 



i tS ^=! 



HH * 



2 I 

CO 

►32 



o 



6 






+2 o 



.i i 



2 '"£, 



c a, 

to 05 

•is © 

. <»> 

05 



214 



« ^ 



OF VERBS. 








O O 












'^> < "' 


3 — 






a 




•^ ■— 


.2 s 


« 




i 




IS 


9 JJ 




*3 


2 


• 


'_ E 


C- 




^ 
C 


"C 


S 







g d js - 
- & 3 SI'S 

■? a 2 f~* * s 5 g 



■£ -S. -is S » "Ss -- i s s & b § p 



S a ^ & ii ^ * K £ 



M S 8 

7 -r. — ^ £ 

> a I l- „ is 1 1 i" S t .2 J 

g I : H OL-i <U * ! 1 2 1 

•^ > . . •- s s = 

►^ <*J — r 

eiii-jf sM i it'll! H 

w g3»8 

W -r ^ = ^ 

Cd = - u a 

£ -^ ■ 8 & •- 

•1 "M 'I I ft 2 s <2L 6 Is •£ 1* 

a S £ S 

= is — " 

= - s [Si 

C 3 C3 ^, — 



CA N 



a ^ ^ s '£ ^ 



6 . Q ?*•.«.! 

^ S <; ^ O a m r^ h- ^ <; ■ > .-. = - 



t)F VERBS 



21.5 



5 .^ 






._ ^ S^ 



V 



V 
S 









*j «v S5 



o 



.~ ... •* -5 

^ ^ r^ -5 
S 15 « a 



> 

H 

< 

O 

t— i 

l-H 

H 
W 

w 

PS 



o 
^2 -^ ^ <s 

I S si S 



5: 

I 






H 


o 


o 




w 




Ph 




^ 


~--J 


w 


Q 


C- 


Ja 


— 


OK 


^ 


--L 


(— 1 


o 
'^ 






«T r§ < S£ 5= ^ rz: 
3 s g & '£ a £ 









a » 



ZP ZP 3? .2? "o 
s k *> i & 






f^ t* Jj 

S3 ? ? 

& 8 8 



a 
o 

g 

O 



■5 
•2 

l-J -~* 
. s 



(3 fcO 



'' ■* « *> <u 
t* 8 g s 



to 



•73 



<U <v) 0) 

S ^ S 

?2 ^ ^2 

» 3 » 



S£ 



a 






h; ^ < <; ^ 



£ Ml 



SO 






bo 

< A O M 



216 




OF VERBS. » 




Infinitive. 


Participle Present. 


Lat. 


vell-e. 


Folens. 


Moes.G. 


wil'jan. 


1\ iljands. ( 


A.S. 


zcill-an. 


JVillende. 


Alem. 


zcill-on. 


Willaiide. 


ML 


til I -a. 


Vriiande. 


Germ. 


zcoll en. 


Wollcnd. 


Belg. 


zzill-en. 


IVillende. 



It deserves observation, that in A.S. there is a verb ex- 
actly analogous to nolle, to be unwilling, from tie telle. 
This is mll-auy ncfl-an, from the negative particle tie, and 
willan voile ; in pret. nolde noluit, no/don noluerunt. Stva 
he zcille, swa he nelle ; Telit wolit ; Bed. 5. 9. 



INDEX. 



K. B. The letter D, prefixed to the number, denotes the page 
in the Dissertation, as distinguishing this from the Hermes ; 
the same reference being continued, throughout the article, 
when there is no change of the capital letter. 



r A, Gr. insep. part., 153, 154, 
probably contracted from 
«7ro, ib. 
A, Isl., Alem. Su.G. and C.B. 

insep. part. 154. 
J, Aa, A.S. adv., 131. 
A, Isl., and Su.G. term., 162. 
Aa, Isl. insep. part., 153. 
Aba, Alem. prep., 30. 
Abaris, called the priest of A- 
pollo, D. p. 112, fable con- 
cerning his flight around the 
earth, 113. 
Aben, Goth, v., 29. 
Abu, Goth, prep., 32. 
Ac, Lat. conj., 183, various 
conjectures as to its origin, 
ib. Goth, cognates, ib. 
Achter, Teut.adv., 134. 
Ad, Lat. prep., 176, etymons 
of Scheide and Vossius, ib. 
a cognate of Goth, at, ib., 
179, viewed as originally the 
same with the cqnj. at, 179. 



Ad, Isl. prep., 177, 178. 
Adonis, equivalent to Baal, 
and as some suppose, to 
Odin, Audin, and Atin, D* 
113, 114. 
Adventure, Eng. s. 132. 
Adverbs,Gr. 128. Lat. 129, &c 
Ae, Su.G. insep. part., 154. 
Ae, Su.G. conj., 123. 
Ae, Aeae, Su.G. adv., 132. 
'As/, Gr. adv., 129, poetical 
forms, ib., signification, ib. f 
rendered by Goth, aiw, 130. 
Aemulus, Lat. adj., 141. 
Aen, Su.G. conj., 119. 
Aeolians, apparently descend- 
ed from Elisha, D. 47. 
Aerit, Isl. adv., 157. 
Aesir, its signification in the 
Etruscan language, D. 151, 
152.. 
Aet, A.S. prep., 125, 177. 
Aevum, Lat. s. 133. 
Aevoe, Isl. s. 131. 



11 



INDEX, 



Af, used by the Gotlis as a 
privative, 155. 

Af, Isl. prep, perhaps allied to 
Lat. ob, 1 80. 

Af, Moes.G. prep., 27., its va- 
rious forms in the cognate 
languages, ib., conjecture of 
H. Tooke, 28. 

Af, ancient Lat. prep., 27. 

A/gangandatu, Moes.G. v., 29. 

Afgod, A.S. s., 

Afhuga, Isl. v.. 

Aflaitk,Moes.G. v., 31. 

Afseger, Isl. v., S3. 

Agalltyr&i, who, D. 141. 

9 Aio;s, Pluto denominated, D. 
138. 

"A<o ? , Ancient Scyth. s. 166. 

Aim, Gr. s., ISJfc 

'A^, Armenians., 166. 

Aithihiw.. Moes.G. conj., 119, 
allied to Lat iraf, 

illtu, Moes.G. adv., 129, equi- 
valent to «j/, in all its senses, 
ib. 

Anveins, Moes.G. adj., 132. 

Ahnte, Eng. adv., I 

Alik, Su.G. adj., 173. 

Alja, Moes.G. conj., 115, cor- 
respond* to Gr. aAAa, ib., 
various significations, 116., 
cognates in the Goth, dia- 
lects, ib., perhaps of orien- 
tal origin. 1 1 7. 

Afja-lunja. Moes.G. s., 115. 

Aljath, Moes.G. adv., 116. 

'aaa<*, Gr. conj. 115, deduced 
by Jones from ixxo-. 
corresponds in all its -- 
fications to Goth, cljn, ib. 

Allah. Alem.adj., 170. 

v A\\*h, Gr. adv., 1 16. 

Alter, Lat. adj. pron., 195, 
observations of Ihre on the 
Lat. relatives ending in ter, 
ib. 



Am, C. Brit, prep., $. 

*A««, Gr. adv., 94, HO. 

AmabUis, Lat. adj., 171. 

Amb, Lat. prep. 5f 

Amh, Amla, Celt, prep., 5. 

Ambages, Lat. s. 7. 

: ApQi, Gr. prep., 5, former de- 
rivation, ib., various signi- 
fications, 6, traces of it dis- 
covered in almost all the 
Goth, dialects, ib. origin, 7. 

An, Fricslandic prep., 16. 

An, Germ, s., 11. 

An, Su.G. prep., 12. 15. 

"At, Gr. conj., 117, etymon, 
ib. 

An, Moes.G. and A.S. conj., 

An, Ian, Moes.G. and A.S. 

tun).. I 
'Ari, dr. prep. 9., primary 

meaning, ib., various - 
rions, 10. 
Ann, Goth, v., 10. 
Ana, Moes.G. prep., 10, allied 

to the (ir. in all 

ib. 
Anacharth, the Scvthian, D. 

59. 
Anaitis, Liana called by the 
liana, D. 1 

\Ajax«:;t'tf<, Gr. V.. 1 . 

15. 

Anastodeii .15. 

And, Moes.G. prep. 17, 2!. 

Ana 1 , A.S. conj., 1". 

And, Su.G. and Isl. prep., 17, 

Eng. prep.. 17, opinion 
H. Tooke, ib. 

r< p., 1". 
Andanahii, M< lb. 

Anda- 
23. 

ixdeiz, M. 



INDEX. 



Ill 



Andraa, Isl. s. 24. 

Andsaiqidicn, Moes.G. v., 25. 

Andsakan, Moes.G. v., 24. 

Ane, Ano, Alem. prep. 1.5. 

*Avv%, Gr. s., 165, its term, 
formed from Goth, tver, 
etymon given by Lennep, 
166, singular coincidence 
between the Goth, and the 
Gr., 167. 

*Anv, Gr. prep., 15. formerly 
ranked as an adv., but often 
used as a prep., ib. 

"Ava, Gr. v., 9. 

Ansyn, A.S. s., 20. 

Ant, Alem. prep., 17. 

t 'Avtol> Gr. prep., 26, common 
origin with Goth, anda, ib. 

Antae, Lat. s., 27. 

Aphrodite j etymon of, D. 120. 

Apin, Peloponnesus called, D. 
19, 20. 93. 

'ako, Gr. prep., 27, radical 
sense, ib., former derivation, 
28, traces of its various 
meanings discovered in 
Goth, cognates, 29, — 33, 
sometimes used adverbially, 
33. 

Apollo, said to be of Hyperbo- 
rean origin, D. 106, called 
Oeto-syrus, or Goeto-syrus, 
107, Aguieus, 108, viewed 
as Balder of the Scandina- 
vians, ib. 109, his tripod, 
110, called Hecaergos, 111, 
Loxias, ib. 112. viewed as 
the same with Baal-Zephon, 
D. 113. 

^ATrordtrca, Gr. V., 32. 

'A7ra>Ti£o$, Gr. adj., 28. 
w Aw<h, Gr. adv., 33. 
Argis, the Hyperborean vir- 
gin, D. 71. 111. 
r Ag<, Gr. insep. part., 156. 



corresponds to Isl. aerit, 
yrit, ib., etymons, 157. 

Arimadr, name of Mars, D. 
124. 

Arimen signifies soldiers, D. 
124. 

Arotrius, a name of Saturn, D. 
84. 

At temis, Diana denominated, 
■ D. 103. 119, 120. 

Artimpasa, Scythian name of 
Venus, D. 119, 120. 

As, Gael, prep., 38. 

A.3 signifies God in Goth., D. 
152. 

Asa-Thor, a Goth, name of 
Jupiter, D. 95. 

Ast, A.S. term., 203, various 
Goth, forms, ib. 

Astar-gyda, Goth, name of 
Venus, D. 123. 

Astoroth. Asiarte, the Pheni-. 
cian Venus, D. 123. 

At,. Lat. conj. V. Ad. 

At, Goth, conj., 124. corres- 
ponds to Gr. on, ib. 

At, Moes.G. prep., 176. cor- 
responds to Lat. ad, in all 
its significations, ib. 179. 

Atar, Su.G. adv., 134. 

'atu£, Gr. conj., 118. affinity 
to Swed. ater, ib. 

Atlie, Franc, conj., 184. 

Attic Letters, D. 63. 

Aththan, Moes.G. conj., 119. 

Attn, Goth, signifies father, D. 
138. 

Atlantidae, worshippers of Sa- 
turn, D, 86. 

9 Amzci, Gr. derivation of, D. 
62. 

Attin, the Phrygian name of 
the Sun, D. 114. 

An, Isl. negative part., 143. 

Av, AvTxg, Gr. adv., 133, per- 



iv 



INDEX. 



haps allied to Isl. aptur, 
Alera. after, ib. 

Audags, Moes.G. adj., 170. 

Audi??, Audon, the Sun deno- 
minated, D. 113. 

Augere, Lat. v., allied to the 
Goth., 183. 

Auk, Moes.G. conj., various 
Goth, forms, 183. 

Aut, Lat. conj., 119. 184. 
etymon of Scaliger, ib., al- 
lied to the Goth., ib. 

Avra^, Gr. conj., 119. 

Aim, Gr. prep., 16. primary 
meaning, ib., various signi- 
fications, 17. traces of it dis- 
covered in most of the Goth, 
dialects, 23. 

Baal-Phegnr, the term ex- 
plained, 110, 128. 

Bacchus, origin of the name, 
D. 133, 134, his conquests 
and symbols, ib., in Thrace, 

135, oracle hi that country, 

1 36, the same with Osiris, ib. 
Balder, Scandinavian god, D. 

108. 

Baris, the name of a moun- 
tain, also of the boat of 
Charon, D. 1 

Bami/o, Moes.G. s., 175. 

Bauan, Moes.G. v., similarity 
to the Gr. 58, N. 

Bee, Eng. s., 59. 

Be??otk, viewed as a designa- 
of Venus, D. 122. 

Beside, Eng. prep., 74. 

Betwux, Moes.G. prep., 7-. 
Mem. prep., 6. 

Bi, Moes.G. prep., 53. vari- 
ous forms in the Goth, dia- 
lects, ib., etymon of <H. 
Tooke, ib., corresponds to 
Ixi, 54 — 57. 

B/x, Gr. $., 53. 



Big, A.S. prep., 54. 

Big, Eng. adj., 60. 

Bigstandan, A.S. v., 59. 

Binos, supposed to 7 denote \€- 
nus, D. 123. 

Bisunjai, Moes.G. adv., 56. 

Bliiidbockens, the term ex- 
plained, D. 137. 

B/ot-gode, the Scandinavian 
Pluto, D. 138. 

Boeo, of Delphi, her testimony, 
D. 72. 

Bore, Saturn denominated, D. 

Bore, Goth. God, D. 84. 

Boreades, who, D. 84-, 85. 

Brcidablik, the city of Balder 
or Apollo, D. 109. 

Bvu, Gr. v. 58, N. 

Bijan, Goth, v., 54, wide dif- 
fusion through the Goth. 
dialects. 

Byth, A.S. v., 

Cadmus, said to introduce let- 
ters into Greece, D, 60. 

Culendae, Lat. s. derivation, 
D. 91. 

Ceres, proper name, deriva- 
tion of, D. 76, her worship, 
D. 99 — 102, etymons of her 
name. 101, called A^n 
101, 102, and 'i»xi, i 

Charon, boat of, how named, 
D. 144: 

I //, D. 5, origin, ib. 

Comj : L. analogy be- 

tween the Gr. and Goth, in 
the comparative degree, ib. 
in the superlative. 208. ot 
the Lat. and Got! 
irregular comparison, 306. 

Conjunctions of the Gr. 116, 
of the Lat. 1 

Coth/tia, etymon. D. V2f % KMt 

Cranio of the Greeks, D. 



INDEX. 



Cybele, Lat. derivation of, D. 
93. 

Act, Gr. insep. part., 158. 

Dae, Isl. insep. part., 158. 

Dagon, analogy to Goth. Dag- 
er a name of the sun, D. 84. 

Actpvapivivs, a title given to the 
sun, D. 117. 

Aux, Gr. adj., 198, conjec- 
tures of Lennep, Scheide, 
&c. as to its origin, 199. 

Del os, the worship of, D. 71. 

Deluge, account of the, given 
bj Lucian and Plutarch, D. 
144. 

Awm^, name of Ceres, D. 
101, etymon, ib. 102. 

Deucalion, his prediction, D. 
70, flood of, 143, confound- 
ed with the universal de- 
luge, ib. 

Aiei, Gr. prep. 34, radically the 
same with Moes.G. du, ib. 

Am tovto, Gr. phrase, 36. 

Diana, called Jana, D. 102, 
Dia, Disa, Artemis, 103, 
designed Dictynna, Multi- 
mammia, 103, 104. worship- 
ped in Scythia; the same 
with Mene, and Maria, 104, 
105. Hecate, 105. 

Al%u, Gr. insep. part., 158. 

Dictynna. V. Diana. 

Ato, Gr. adverb, 36. 

Ato, Gr. conj., 120. 

AtoTt, Gr. conj., 120. 

AU, Gr. insep. part. 158. cor- 
responds to Goth, dis, 159. 

Dis, Moes.G. insep. part., 159. 

Dis, Pluto named, D. 138. 

Du, Moes.G. prep., 34.— va- 
rious significations, ib. — si- 
milar in its application to 
Gr. ha, 35 — 37. in A.S. as- 
sumes the form of to, 37. 



Duatrinnan, Moes.G. v., 35. 
Avo, Gr. adj., 198. 
Du quhe, Moes.G. phrase, 36. 
Durstig, Germ, adj., 170. 

E, Ee, Su.G. conj., 123. 

E, Ee, Su.G. adv., 132. 142. 

r H, Gr. conj., 123. 

Ea, Lat. pron., 191. 

E«», Gr. conj., 117. 

Edo, Alem. conj., 119, 184. 

Ef, Isl. conj., 122. 

'£y«, Gr. pron., 189. 

Ei, Moes.G. conj., 120. allied 
to Gr. h, ib. occurs in the 
sense of tvx, 121. in con- 
struction similar to «v, ib. 

Ei, Gr. conj., 120, occurs in 
the sense of on, 122. 

Ei, Isl. adv., 143. 

Ei/ui, Gr. v. 210. to-Afixi resem- 
bles Goth, wisan, 211. table 
of affinity of the Gr. and 
Goth, substantive v., 212. 

Eiv, Gr. term., 162. similarity 
to the the term, of the Goth, 
infinitives, ib. 

E<v, Gr. prep., 45. 

Eitkau, Moes.G. adv., 122. 

Either, Eng. conj., 184. 

'Ex, Gr. prep. 37. apparent affi* 
nity to Goth, us, 38. I| proba- 
bly the more ancient form, 
39. derived by some from Ua, 
4.0 perhaps allied to Goth. 
tvigs, ib., its various modes 
of application, 42. 

9 Ex&7vos, Gr. pron., 195. allied 
to Goth. joins, ib. 

"Ex$o£et, Gr. adj., 44. 

'Exa, Gr. v., 40. affinity be- 
tween it and the Goth, ib., 
opinion of Wachter, ib. 

El, Germ, adj., 117. 

El, a name of the true God, 
D. 114, 



VI 



INDEX. 



C HA<W, Gr. adj, 171 . derivation 
172. 

'hajbj, the sun ; etymon, D. 
115. 

Ella, Isl. conj., 186. 

Emb, A.S. prep., 6. 

'Ep^egw, Gr. adj., allied to 
Su.G. jaem for, 141. 

"H>«rt/, Gr. adj., 1H. 

Emne, A.S. adv., MO., simi- 
larity of formation between 
the Goth, and the Gr., ib. 
cognates, 1 + 1. 

'Ef*5T£<£<«, Gr. s. 78. 

" Ep^^h*, Gr. prep., 20. 

'Et, Gr. prep. 45. derivations 
of several etymologist*, ib. 
primary mode of application, 
its various meanings, 47. 

En, A.S. term. 171. 

'£r, Gr. term. 163. allied to 
Su.G. an, ib., conjectures of 
Mr Jones, 1 64. ♦ 

"£», ?Mf, Gr. adj., table of affi- 
nity in its nominative to the 
Goth. 198, in its declension 
200. 

Endi, Alem. prep. 26. 

'Evextv, Gr. adv.. 

'Eu, Gr. prep.. 

*£y/xoc. Gr. adj., 200, resem- 
blanee between the Gr. and 
the Goth, ia the formation 
of words, ib. 

"Enm, Gr. adj., 198. 

V E* r#»)fr, Gr. phrase, 51. 

'Etol.cg, and '£i»3»c, Mercury 
why called, D. 1: 

? E«, Gr. v., 46. 

? £tt/, Gr. prep., 53, various 
meanings, 54. 

'B-ktyptf*, Gr. v., 109. 

"£™, Gr. v., 53. 

"Etttx, Gr< adj., 19S. 

J5r, Isl. conj.,* 13$. 

E)\ A.S. term., 1( 



£r, Alem. insep. part., 157. 
Er, A.S. term., 201., allied to 

the Gr., ib., various forms, 

ib., observations of Wach- 

ter, 202. 
H$, Gr. term., 165, allied to 

Goth, er, ter, ster, ib. 
H$x, the name of Juno, D. 97. 
'££<, Gr. insep. part, 156. 
Ermeusevcl, or Irniensaul, said 

to be Mercury, D. 128, 

129. 
Esreimeach, Celt, participle, 

38. 
Et, Lat. conj. 185. 
Hti, Hxoi, Gr. conj., 119. 
'Et£#«j, Gr. adj., 2(K>. 
Etrurians, of Scythic origin, 

150 — 152, their letters, 150. 
El to, Ehba s Celt, adv., 136. 
En, Celt, adv., 132. 
Eumolpus, institution of the 

myste r ie s of Ceres ascribed 

to* him, D. 99, 100. 
Euxine, derivation of, D., 5. 
'E|, Gr. j 

*E£, Gr. adj., 198. 
'E£tA*«r*tc, Gr. participle, 44. 
"££*, Gr. adv... 

Fair, Moes.G. prep., 79. 

Eairra, Moes.G. pi 

Eairra, Moes.G. adv., 145. 
cor. . xejjp*, ib. 

Fairrathro, Moes.G.adV., 

Eura, Su.G. v., 76. sffeaitj to 
the Gr., ib. 

Fau>\ Eaum, Moes.G. prep., 
allied to txcx, 79. ori- 
gin, ib. retains all the h 
of tx$*, Bl — 83. c 
ponds to Gr. t ; -o in all its 
meanings, 

Faun 

t. adr., 1 
B L.oth. MB 



INDEX, 



VU 



Earth viewed as a goddess, 
D. 1 23. considered as origi- 
nally the same with the Lat. 
name Venus, ib. 

Fer, Alem.prep., 181. 

Fera, Moes.G. s., 89. 

Feria, Lat. s., 87. 

Os^, Gr. v., 76. 

Ferron, Alem. prep., 87. 

Fiara, Isl. and Alem. prep., 86. 

Filu, Moes.G. adv., 145, cor- 
reponds to Gr. tto^v, ib. 

Filiiwardein, Moes.G. s., 14*4-. 

First, Eng. adj., 87. 

Foeda, Isl. v., 167. 

Foer, Su.G. prep., 181. 

For, Eng. prep., 94-. 

Fordyre, Isl. s., 91. 

Fret, Moes.G. prep., 84?. 

Fra, Isl. Su.G. and A.S. prep., 
85. 

Freia, Frigga, Fro, names of 
Venus, D. 120, etymon, ib. 
121. 

Friday, why so called, D. 1 22. 

Frutiual, temple at Rome, D. 
121. 

Frutis, a name of Venus, D. 
121. 

Fruiteseja, the designation ex- 
plained, D. 121. 

Fyrer, Isl. prep., 181. 

G, Moes.G., sound of, 196. 

Gait, Scot, s., 63. 

Gata, Su.G. and Isl. s.-, 61. 

Gatwn, Moes.G. s., 61. 

r?, Ge, the wifo- of Saturn, D. 

86. Goth. Gio ib. 
Gcloni, a Scythian nation, D. 

141. 
Get, A.S. adv., 135. 
Getae, D. 7, the same with 

Scythae, D. ib., and with the 

Goths, 10. place of abode, 8. 
Gilboreus, similarity of his ad- 



ventures to those of Saturn, 
D. 87. 
Goelo-syrus. V. Oeto-syrus. 

Goihs, of the, D., 10. H. 1 

4. 
Greek Language, of the, D. 
58, resemblance to the Scy- 
thic, ib. H. 1. 
Greeks, Religion of the, D. 68. 
Oracle of Dodona, 68, of 
Delos, 71, and of Delphi, 73. 
Of Saturn, 80,the Saturnalia, 
88, of Janus, 89. of Titaea. 
91. of Rhea, ib. of Jupi- 
ter, 94. of Vejovis, 96. of 
Juno, 97. of M nerva, ib. 
of Vesta, 98. of Ceres, 99. 
of Diana, 102. of Hecate, 
105. of Apollo, J 06. pro- 
bably the same with the 
Balder of the Scandinavians, 
10S. of his name \E*«^y*s, 
110. 

Guide, Eng. s., 64. 

Gyt, A.S. adv., 135, synony- 
mous with 'in, ib., has the 
sense of Gr. ^q, 136. 

Haba, Moes.G. v., 208. 

Habeo, Lat. v., 203. striking 
conformity between the Lat. 
and the Goth, in the de- 
clension of verbs, ib. 

Haedan, Su.G. adv., 164. 

Huirto, Moes.G. s., 39. 

Head, Eng. s., 100. 

Hecaergos, a designation of 
Apollo, D. 111. 

Hecate, name of Diana, D., 
105. etymon, ib. 106. said to 
ride through the air, ib. 

Heimdal, one of the Goth, 
names of Mercury, D. 131. 

Helicon, origin of the name 
according to Rudbeck, D. 
143, 

Hellenes, of the, D. 21, view- 



Vlll 



INDEX, 



ed by some as a different 
race from the Pelasgi, ib. 

Hera, Alem. name of Juno, 
D. 97. 

Hercules, among the Germans, 
and worshipped by them, 
D. 139. memorials of him, 
ib. etymon of his name, 139, 
140. his pillars, 140. wor- 
shipped by the Scythians, 
141. 

Herklaede, Goth. D. 140. 

Herman, the general of the 
ancient German;:, D. 1 

Hermes, the name of Mercury, 
etymon of, G. 1 26. 

Hermod, the Goth. Mercury, 
D. 131. 

Herr, its signification in Goth., 
D. 125. 

Hlaib, M< 56. 

Ifcvacnnc, A.S. adv., 1.32. 

Hyperboreans, of the, D. 76. 
ftudbeck's derivation of the 
name, 78. called a sacred 
people, 107. 

Hyperion, name of, explained, 
D. 115. 

/, Su.G. and [si, prep.. 46. 

Jains, Moes.G. pron. 195. 

Januarius, Lat. s., derivation 
of, D. 90. 

Janus, not unknown to the 
northern nations, D. I 

Japetus, evidently the same 
with Japhot, D. 145. 

Japhet, viewed as Neptune, D. 
118. 

J J, Lat. pron., 192. 

Ident, Scot., origin of, D. 91. 

Ides, etymon of the word D.91. 

Jo-. Gem term., 169, etymon 
n by Wachter, ib., vari- 
ous forms in the Goth, dia- 
leets, 170. 



Ii, Lat. pron., 192. 

Ik, Moes.G., pron., 189. 

I**s, Gr. term., 169, affinity to 
Germ, ig, ib. ( 

Illyriam, of Scythian extract, 
D. 45. 149. 

II us, the Piioenician name of 
Saturn, D. 114. 

Im, Goth. v.. 212. 

Imus, Lat. term., 203 — 205, 
allied to Goth, mists, 203, 
formation of the Lat. super- 
lative, 204. 

In, Goth, prep., 47, used in 

all the various significations 

of it, 47 — 50, changes the 

K of words to which it 

i* prefixed like Lat. in, 50. 

Inachus, different represent- 
ations of, D. 116. 147. 

Inn, Moes.G. adv., 50. 

Inna, Alem. pi\p., 51. 

Inna, Isl. v., 5 

Inna, A.S. s., opinion of H. 
Tooke, 47. 

Innakunths, Moes.G. adj., 51. 

I una i . . 48. 

Inner, I ng. adj., 28. 

'iMfj Gr. term., allied to Goth. 
en, 171, 

Inquio, Lat. v., affinity to Goth. 
quith-an, ib. 

Iuuh, Moes.G. prep. 15, 47. 

Io, the daughter of Inachus, 

fables concerning, D. 146, 

1.7. 
J ol fader, Saturn denominated, 

D. 84. 
Ion, the same with Javan, D. 

47. 10, conjoined with 1 

caJion. 145. 
Iona, the sun called, by the 

Trojans, D. 
"iaAec meaning of the won 



INDEX, 



IX 



Jos, Moes.G. pron. 190. 

Irmensaul. V. Ermensetvl. 

Is, Lat. pron., 190, table of 
affinity to the Goth., ib. 

Icrog, Gr. term., 202, allied to 
Goth. itf* t ista, 203. 

Ith, Moes.G. conj. 185. 

Julebockens, meaning of the 
term, D. 137. 

Juno, her various names, D. 
97. 

Jupiter, the Jof-ur of the Ed- 
da, D. 91, the same with 
Thor, ib., worship o?, 94*. 

Izo, Moes.G. term., 202. 

K and G, interchangeable in 
the Goth, dialects, 60. 

K and r interchanged inGr., 60. 

Kadeni, Alem. v., 60. 

Kx^ix, Gr, s. 39. 

Kxtu, Gr. prep., 60., proba- 
bly derived from Isl. gata y 
a way, ib. 

L, Germ, term., 175. 

Latona, D. 106. 

Leiks, Moes.G. adj. 172, va- 
rious forms in the Goth, 
tongues, ib. 

Aikos, Gr. term., 171, from the 
same origin with Goth, leiks, 
ib. 

At?, Atav, Gr. term., 151. 

A«?, Gr. term., 175. 

Lcxias, designation of Apollo, 
D. Ill, 112. 

Loxo, one of the Hyperborean 
virgins, who carried the of- 
ferings to Apollo, D. 111. 

Lucumones, Etrurian magis- 
trates, D. 152. 

Macedonia, derivation of the 

name, D. 45—47. 
Maet, Alem. Isl. Su.G. s., 70. 



Magister, Lat. s., 165. 

Main, mother of Mercury, 
also called Maera, D. 130. 

Maiden, or Kern-Baby, D. 73. 

Mars, the Odin of the Goths, 
D. 124, called "a^, Ari- 
madr, 124. Herian, Her- 
Jauthr, 125. Thracian ori- 
gin ascribed to him, 124. 

Massa-Getae, 0. 7. Scythi- 
ans, 8. origin of the name, 
9. 

Mate, Eng. s., 69. 

Matiaci, Lat. s., 69. 

Medius, Lat adj., 67. 

M'zyxq, Gr. adj. 206. 

Meij, Goth, a virgin, D. 130. 

Meins, Moes.G. pron., 189. 

Meith, Scot, s., 66. 

Mene, Diana called, D. 104, 
105. 

Mercury named Hermes, Thoth, 
Theuth,Taautus,'D.\26.Teu* 
tates, ib. 127. -Ermensewl, 
the chief idol of the Thra- 
cians, ib. the Phallus assign- 
ed to him, ib. 128. son of 
nine Muses, 131. 142. ori- 
gin of his Lat. name, 132. 

MeswW, Gr. s., 69. 

Mirror, Gr. adj., 68. 

Met, Lat. suffix, 68. 

Mbtx, Gr. prep., 64, concurs 
with the Goth, in all its 
meanings, 70. 

Mete, A.S. s. 65. 

Mu'rug, Gr. s. of Goth, origin, 
168. 

Meto, Lat. v., 65. 

Meus, Lat. pron., 189. 

Mid, Moes.G. prep., 63. 

Mikils, Moes.G. adj., 206. 

Minerva, etymon of the name, 
0. 97, also of Sigaea, ib. 

Minn izo, Moes.G. adj., 207- 

Minos, etvmon of, 0. 139. 
P 



X 



INDEX. 



Misso, Moes.G., 68. 

Mists, Moes.G. term., 203 — 

206, its meaning, 205. 
Mitk, Moes.G. prep., 66. 
Mittinc, A.S. s., 66. 
Mus, Lat. term., 205. 
Muses, the nine, of Thracian 

origin, D. 111. connexion 

with Mercury, ] 12. 
Myd, Old Eng. prep., 71. 
Mysians , game with Moesi, D. 

42. of Scythian origin, ib. 

N«, N»j, Gr. insep. part., 160. 

Ne, A.S. adv., 16 k 

Necken, Nicken, considered as 
the Neptune of Scvthia, D. 
US. 

Neith, Egyptian name of Mi- 
nerva, D. 98. 

Neil on, a rock in the lake of 
' Geneva, D. US. 

Neothen, A.S. adv., 138. 

Neptune, worshipped by Scy- 
thians, D. 115. denominated 
21iamimasadcs, 1 16. etymon 
of this name, ib., 117. of 
Neptune, US, 119. The 
horse ascribed to him, 1 1 9. 

Kerens, identified with Niord, 
and Nerds with Nicrrvn, of 
the Scandinavians, D. 118. 

Ni, Moes.G. conj., 160. 

Niaimshun, Moes.G. conj., 161. 

"Sicken, V. Necken. 

Nillan, A.S. v., 216. 

Nones, etymon of, D. 91. 

Nortlian, A.S. adv., 161. 

Nos, Lat. pron., 189. 

Ny, Gr. adv., 139. 

AX Goth, adv., 139. 

Numerals of t lie Gr., Lat., and 
Goth., 197. 

Rvv, Nvu, Gr. adv., 13S, its 
various senses expressed by 
Goth, nu, ib. 



Ob, Lat. prep., ISO, etymon 
given by Vossius, ib. 

Ob, Alem. prep., /ISO. 

Odin, the Mars of the Goths. 
D. 124-. 

Oety-syrns, Apollo called, D. 
107, supposed to be pro- 
perly Goeto-syrus, ib. 

Of, A.S. prep., 104. 

Ofa, Isl. prep., 104. 

Ofanfri, Isl. adv., 104. 

Ofer, A.S. prep., 101. 113. 

Of, Eng. prep., 33. 

Ogyges, flood of, D. 143. 

'o«t*', Gr. adj. 198. 

Oltn, the Lycian, D. 71, 72. 

"Opts, Gr. adv., 140, synony- 
mous with A.S. emttj ib. 

On, A.S. prep. 11, 12. 47. 

Ontaerden, Belg. v., 25. 

Opis, the Hyperborean virgin, 
D. 71. 

Or, Lat. term., 202. 

Orpheus, a Thracian, D. 136. 
instructed by Bacchus, ib. 

"On, Gr. adv., 142. 148. 

Oththe, A.S. conj., 119. 184. 

"Ot*, Gr. conj. 123. use, 124. 
in the sense of that, equiva- 
valent to Goth, at, ib. with a 
superlative, 125. signifies be- 
cause, 126. analogy between 
the formation of 9 t* and the 
conj. of the Goths., 1 . 

Ov> einc, Gr. adv., 1 I 

oJao^c*, who, D. 1S7. 

Ovid, his testimony concern- 
ing the Goth, language, D. 
65. 

Papacus, a name of Jupiter, 

derivation of, D. 95. 
Par, Lilt, adj., 
n*$», Gr. prep.. 73. primary 

meaning, 75. apparent 



INDEX, 



XI 



gin, 76. affinity to the Goth., 
79. 9T changed into <p by the 
Greeks, 80. various mean- 
ings, 80—83. 

Iferiig, Gr. s., common origin 
with the Goth, term, 167. 

Pelasgi, of the, D. 15. diffused 
through all Greece, 16. tes- 
timony of Aeschylus, 19. of 
Mitford, 20. the same 
people with the Hellenes, 
25. testimony of Herodotus 
examined, 23 — 28. opini- 
on of Mr Astle concerning 
the origin of the Pelasgi er- 
roneous. 29. origin of the 
name, 33. four persons of 
the name of Pelasgus, 34. 
various derivations, 36. Scy- 
thian origin of the Pelasgi 
proved from testimony, 39. 
names of the nations which 
anciently possessed Greece, 
40. some of these of Scy- 
thian origin, 41 — 45. Scy- 
thian origin of the Pelasgi 
confirmed by their progress, 
48 — 53. of their language, 
53. allied to the Scythian, 
58. of their characters 61. 

Pelasgia, ancient name of all 
Greece, D. 16. 

Pelasgus, V. Pelasgi. 

Tlivn, Gr. adj., 198. 

Per, Lat. prep. 180. different 
senses in composition, 181. 
analogy between it and the 
Goth., 181, 182. 

Ti^cc, n£g*v, Gr. prep. 83. af- 
finity to the Goth., 84. 

Unocal, Gr. v., 75. 83. 

Jlegi, Gr. prep., 88. etymons 
given of this term, ib* al- 
lied to \&\.Jiri,fyri, 89. 

Phallus, of Scythian original, 
D. 127, how designed in 
scripture, 128. 



Phryga, Phrygia, Venus de- 
nominated, D. 122. 

Phrygians, of Thracian, and 
therefore of Scythic origin, 
D. 41,42. 

Pi, Alem. prep., 53. 

Plato, testimony of, concern- 
ing the Hyperboreans, D. 
139. 

Pluto, his names in Gr. and 
Goth. D. 138. 

TloXv, Gr. adv., a cognate ef 
the Goth., 143. 

Uo^og, Gr. s., 79. 

Ii6\\u, Gr. adv., 145. 

iTojjpa/Tsg^, Gr. adv., 146. 

Poseidon, name of Neptune, 
etymon of, D. 117, 118. 

Primus, Lat. adj., 88. 

U(6, Gr. prep., 90, primary 
signification, ib., corresponds 
to Goth, faur, faura, 90 — 
94. 

Pronouns, of the Gr., Lat., and 
Goth, languages, 187 — 196. 

Prosum, Lat. v., 20. 

Ilg<;7j£fl£, Gr. adj., 207. ana- 
logy between the Gr. and 
the Goth, in deriving adj. 
from prep., ib. 

Tl^anos, Gr. adj., analogy* in its 
formation to Eng. Jirst, 87. 

Pyrrha, wife of Deucalion, 
etymon given of her name, 
D. 146. 

Qiialis, Lat. adj., 173. allied 
to Moes.G. quheleiks, 173. 
194. 

Quam, Lat. adv., 150. 

Quhan, Moes.G. adv., 150. 

Quhana, Moes.G. pron., 194. 
table of affinity to the Lat., 
ib. 

Quis, Lat. pron., 192, conjec- 
tures of etymologists as to 
P2 



Xll 



INDEX. 



its origin, ib., table of affi- 
nity to the Gothic, 193. 

Bamveriar, lsl. s., 166. 

Hhadamanthus, supposed ori- 
gin of the name, D. 1 39. 

Rhea, her other names, D. 92. 

Rhetra, the Spartan laws cal- 
led, D. 67. 

Riphca, derivation of, D. 6. 

Romans, tradition concerning 
their origin, D. 151. 

Sacaea, a feast of Bacchus, D. 
136. 

Salich, Germ, adv., 173. 

Sain, Goth, prep., 94-. 

Sama, Guth. prep., 91, cor- 
responds to Ur. <ri/», 9 

Samothrncc, worship of, taught 
by Pelasgi, 1). 70. 

Saturn, with the Saxons Sea- 
ter, Crodo, Sec. D. 82, ety- 
mon, 83, 84, Siton of the 
Phcnicians, 81. Bore of the 
Goths, ib. symbols, j 
Uranus, 86, origin of his 
history, ib. ST. 

Saturnalia, resemblance to the 
festival of Yule, 1 
troduced by the Pelasgi, 91. 

Scydrothumis, meaning of the 
name, D. 116. 

Scythia, D. 3, the name used 
with great latitude by mo- 
dern authors, ib., its extent 
clearly denned by ancient 
writers, 4k 

Scythians, D. 5, confounded 
with the Sarmatians, 5, de- 
rivation of the name, 6, ori- 
gin, 7, — the sume with the 
Getae, ib., Scyt/iae, perhaps 
a modification of Gctac, 9, 
the same with the Cloths, 
10, the Thracians a branch 
of the Scythians, 12. 



Scythic Language, allied to the 
Greek, 5*>, affinity between 
several of its words and the 
Gr., 66. ( 

Shack, Scot, v., 147. 

Sicca Venerea, her temple at 
Carthage, D. 122. 

Similis, Lat. adj., derived from 
Goth, samaleiks, 174. 

Si ton. V. Saturn. 

Ska, lsl. insep. part., 1 \ 

Skaafull, lsl. adj., 14& 

Skaivie, Scot, adj., 148. 

2**!*, Gr. v., 14-7. 

2*«a«05, Gr. adj. 147. 

neient Lat. pron., 191. 

Spartam, Pelasgi, D. 25. 

Xl, Gr. pron.. 190. 

Succot/i-Unoth, the term ex- 
plained, D. 1 

Sum, ancient Lat. prep., 91. 

Sum, Lat. v., 210, table of 
affinity to the Goth., L'l_\ 

TvpZciji, Gr. s., 96, striking 
analogy between the Gr. 
and Goth, in the formation 
of words, ib. 

Z^», Gr. prep., 91, affinity to 
various Cioth. prep., 9 

Suus, Lat. pron., 191. 

SuTthau, Moes.G. cunj.. 

Syr, a Per>ian name for the 
Sun, D. 107. 

Tahiti, Scythian name of 

ta, D. 98, conjecture as to 

its origin, ib. 99. 
Talis, Lat. adj., 17 

, Lat. adv., 150. 
Tammuz, name of the Sun, D. 

116. 
Tamyris, queen of Scythians, 

D. 116. 
Ta ranis, viewed as the sam« 

with Thur. D. 



INDEX. 



Xlli 



Targitaus, etymon of the 
name, D. 96. 

Ter, Lat, term., 165. 

Terminations, of, 163. 

Tg£o ? , Gr. term., 201. 

T?rr«g«, Gr. adj., 198. 

Teutates, the German Mercu- 
ry, D. 127. 130. 

Thairh, Moes.G. prep,, 34. 

Thamimasades, name of Nep- 
tune, etymon, D. 116, 117. 

Thei, Moes.G. conj. 127. 

©gv, Gr. term., 163. 

Theuth, ThoVi, Mercury, D. 
126, same with Teutat, 130. 

Thracians, supposed to be the 
descendants of Thiras, D. 
12, 13. a branch of the 
Scythians, 12, derivation of 
the word, ib.., same people 
with the Getae, 13. 

GvyaT*i£, Gr. s., affinity to 
Goth., 168. 

Thulan, Moes.G. v., 77. 

Thy, A.S. conj., 127. 

Titaea, the wife of Uranus, D. 

91, 92, the same with Ge, 

92, etymon, ib. 

Titan, Gr. s. derivation of, D. 

86. supposed the same with 

Theuth, D. ib. etymon, ib. 
Titans, acknowledged to be 

Atlantidae, D. 92. 
Ton, Gr. adv., 142, analogy to 

the correspondent Goth. 

adv., ib. 
Tg«?, Gr. adj., 198. 
Trojans, of Scythian origin, D. 

41, 42. Italian colony, 149. 
Tuliy Lat. v., drived from the 

Goth., 77. 

U, Tsl. and Dan. part., 1 43. 
JJberden, Franc, adv., 114. 
Ubu, Moes.G. prep., i03. 



Uder, Moes.G. prep., 105. 

Vf, Moes.G. prep., 99. deri- 
vation, ib. originally signi- 
nined above, 102. corre- 
sponds to Lat, e, ex, to Gr. 
Ik, 1% ; to Lat. a, and to Gr. 
a. privative, 103. traces of 
the changes of its meaning 
discovered in the Isl. 104. 
why it. first received the 
sense of downwards, 105. 
corresponds to the various 
senses of Gr. vtto, 106, 108. 

Vf, Alem. and Franc, prep., 
103. 

Vfe.r, Moes.G. prep., 108, cor- 
responds to the various 
senses of Gr. &«rsg, 108, 114. 

Ufenan, A.S. adv., 163. 

Ufgraben, Moes.G. v., 105. 

U/hropjan, Moes.G. v., 103. 

Ufmesa, Moes.G. s., 106. 

Vfon, A.S. prep., 100. 

Uil, Moes.G. the sun, D. 115. 

Umtveg, Germ, s., 7. 

Un, Eng. insep. part., 16. 

Un, Brit, adj., 200, affinity of 
the Celt, numerals to those 
of the Goth., ib. 

TJnaneled, Eng. participle, 12. 

'r*-s£, Gr. prep., 96, of Goth, 
origin, 99, 108, objections 
to this derivation, 101, va- 
rious significations, 108. 

'Ytto, Gr. prep. 106. 

Uranus, Gr. and Lat. s., deri* 
vation of, D. 86. 

Vaen, waen % Goth, beautiful, 

D. 123. 
Veel, Teut. adj., 144. 
Vejovis, different etymons of 

the designation, D. 96. 
Venus, named Artimpasa, D. 

119, etymon a 120, Aphro- 



XIV 



INDEX, 



dite, ib. Freia, Frigga, 120, 
Phryga, Phrygia, 122, the 
name Venus not of Gr. or 
Lat. origin, ib. Benoth, 122, 
BinoSy 123, Wena-dis, ib. 
Astarte, ib. Cotyttia, ib. 

Venustus, etymon of, D. 123. 

Verbs, of, 202, formation of 
the Goth, preterite, 209. the 
use of the dual, ib. striking 
coincidence between seve- 
ral parts of the Lat. and 
Goth, verbs, 208. of the 
Gr. Lat., and Goth, sub- 
stantive verbs, 210. 

Vesta, called Tahiti, D. 93, 
supposed the same with Isis, 
99. 

Vel, Lat. conj. probably allied 
to UL ella, 186. 

Vialis, a title given to Mercu- 



ry, D. 133. 
Vohy Lat. v., table of affinity 

to the Goth., 215. 
Vidtus, Lat. s., ajlied to the 

Goth., 19. 

Wair, Moes.G. s., 168. 
IVcr, A.S. s., 166. 168. 
Wheat -strain, sacred things of 

Apollo bound up in it, D.73. 
IV U, one of the sons of Bore, 

D. 1 1 1, 
JViljan, Moes.G. v., 215. 

Yeti Eng. conj., 136. 

Yond, Eng. adv., 196. 

Yule, analogy between this 
and the Saturnalia, D. 88. 
supposed to refer to Bac- 
chus, D. 136. 



FINIS. 



ERRATA,— In Dissertathn, 

4. from bottom, for indisputable, read iadi-r 

5. for versimilitude, read verisimil.; 



*»* 



»** 



lin. 



44. lin. 

45. 

46. 

6\. 

51. 
118. 
.19. 
181. 
126. 
200. 
210. 



In Hermes, 

23. for *, read i* 

30. for liiurxktp., read 'liturmkru 

25. for xt\6Zri»x, read xc>.^uZr.e*m 
3. for tixixxif, read ux.xxia 
3. fi*>m bottom, for ect, read ject 

17. for T$ir.rmft,iv, read <rtnrcfj.it 

15. for A ten, read Aen 
2. for !E»3<ycw;, read It&i/fa 

furmdCjutfttt, read uirx'i'r.xxuit 

13. from bottom. 

14. fr rvtriXetTtrirZy. re. id r m t t Xif tar mt 



, Edinburgh. 



LK 






H 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




003 038 643 7 



